Old Habits
by LadyKatsu
Summary: When a teenage runaway stumbles into Eiri Yuki's home, he finds that his old habits of hitting on women are hard to break, but thankfully he has Shuichi there to help him stop. Despite that, it doesn't stop love from blooming before his eyes.
1. Fan Girls and Liquor

Authoress here.

I have dreams. Very, very strange dreams. When I say that they inspire stories...

Let's just leave it at that, okay?

START CHAPTER

Eiri Yuki was angry. Actually, he was downright pissed. Fans followed him on the streets wherever he went, and reporters left hours of telephone messages on a daily basis. As if his personal life was any of their business.

He had the second installment of his newest romance novel to give to Mizuki today as well, and that only made his temper worse.

He was there now, sitting at his computer typing, trying to finish it before she showed up. It was rather late at night, and he was having a hard time concentrating on his work. What did it feel like to be kissed by a woman, anyway?

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Damn it. All he could think about was Shuichi. He was out right now, working on some new song. Despite himself, Yuki couldn't help but be worried.

Shuichi had said he would walk home tonight since fans always followed any vehicle he rode in and he didn't feel like getting caught in another fan-related traffic jam. It was a hard life, being famous.

**-Meanwhile-**

Shuichi Shindou ran as fast as his feet would carry him down the street. _Oh shit. I knew I shouldn't have walked_! He was currently being chased, hunted down, by a pack of fan girls who weren't deterred by the fact that he had a boyfriend.

Yuki's house was in view now. He was almost there now. Just a few more feet...

A few more feet later and he had collided with a young woman who was heading the other way. They both fell on the ground, him directly on top of her. She didn't even bother to ask if he was okay before she tried to shove him off her and keep going.

"Get the hell off me, pervert," she snapped. When the clouds shifted and the moonlight shone on her, Shuichi was taken aback. She had dyed black hair, and a ring of dark eyeliner around each eye. She would have been rather pretty if she hadn't been scowling at him. "Who the hell do you think you are, anyway?"

Looking behind him, Shuichi would clearly see the girls catching up. Not thinking, he grabbed her arm and tugged her with him through the front gate (which he promptly closed) and towards Yuki's front door.

Her dark-ringed eyes opened wide in shock as she heard the gate close behind her. "Let go of me, asshole!" she snarled, jerking her arm away. It was then that Yuki opened the front door, illuminating her and Shuichi.

"Get the hell in here, both of you!" he growled.

Shuichi complied and seized her arm again as she started walking the other way. When he hauled her into the entryway, the men got a good look at her.

A backpack was slung over her shoulder. It was a Saturday, so she wouldn't have had school that day. She looked guilty as well, eyes scouring for an escape route. A siren wailed past, and she winced as the noise met her ears.

Yuki was holding a glass of some unidentifiable liquor in his hand. After taking a sip, he remarked, "You sure can pick 'em, Shuichi. She's a runaway."

The girl dropped her backpack in shock and stumbled so her back was pressed against the door, but didn't deny it.

"What's your name, kid?" Yuki asked.

She carefully avoided answering his question. "Listen, I don't have much money, but I can pay you if you'll just let me go."

Before Shuichi could respond with a surely kind remark, Yuki stepped in. "Answer my damn question, you little whore."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Alira."

"No last name?"

"That's none of your fucking business."

Shuichi was silent. He didn't know what to say to her.

Yuki drained his drink and walked off into the kitchen to put the glass in the dishwasher. Alira immediately turned to open the door and leave, but Shuichi stepped close enough to put his hand over hers to stop her from turning the handle. Which was quite close.

She instantly jerked her hand back as if she had been burned. "Who do you think you are, anyway?" she snapped, turning to face him. She almost jumped when she realized how close he had gotten, but steadied herself.

"Shuichi Shindou," he said with a smile. "Lead singer of Bad Luck."

"...Holy shit," she whispered, her face turning pink. She was face to face with the lead singer of her favorite singer, and hadn't even recognized him.

Yuki entered the room a moment later, and Shuichi stepped back quickly. His lover's eyes shifted to Alira.

She was half Japanese and half American, but she looked as though she had been trying to cover it up by dying her hair to a darker color. A centimeter of red-brown roots were showing already.

The eyeliner was smeared a little, like she had been crying earlier that day. She was wearing a thin-strapped black tank top with a pair of jeans, and American-made sneakers.

Yuki was pissed again. She was pretty.

**-In the Police Station-**

"How could you lose her?" A tall, burly man pounded his hand on the police chief's desk.

"Mr. Montosuwa," the police chief replied, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands. "This is the third time you've come here asking us to find your daughter. We figured you would have this problem settled by now."

Mr. Montosuwa clenched his right hand into a fist. "Find her. Bring her back."

The police chief sighed heavily, pressing a hand to his forehead. He felt far too young to have to do these kinds of things on a weekly basis. "We'll do our best, sir."

**-Back at Yuki's House-**

"Shuichi Shindou..." she muttered, still not quite believing what she was seeing.

"Yes, that's him. Now tell me, are you planning on mooching off me and hiding out here," Yuki asked coldly. "If I need to do more shopping, it would be nice to know ahead of time."

Alira looked at Yuki, suddenly seeing him in a new light. "Can I?"

"Do I have a choice?" he replied. When she shook her head and picked up her backpack again, he closed his eyes. "I need another drink."

END CHAPTER

So what did you all think? (Resisting urge to say y'all...)

Send in reviews please!

Authoress out.


	2. Hiro and Eyeliner

Hi there, readers! I'd give you cookies for reading this chapter, but...I ate them. Sorry.

I have some homework I should really be doing right now, but screw that.

(shakes fist at school) You heard me! _Screw that! _I've been bogged down with crap lately, so I haven't been on the computer and internet as much as I'd like. I'm going to make up for it soon, I swear, and I'll stop neglecting my stories. Some will forever remain unfinished...but most will be completed, I promise!

My right hand is cold. The left one isn't, but the right one doesn't want to move right now. Odd. And it's making it hard to type.

Still, I carry on!

Oh yeah. Sorry about the delay on other story chapters. I swear I shall get Saiyuki 13up soon! Don't kill me, Ankara!

START CHAPTER

Yuki had sent the two teens upstairs after they chatted for roughly ten minutes, claiming their pointless talking was giving him a migraine.

"How old are you, anyway?" Shuichi had decided to take Alira to the spare bedroom that she would be staying in. He sat down on the bed to chat with her as she unpacked.

"Eighteen last Friday," she replied, not looking over at the pink-haired boy sitting on the bed. _Her _bed. At least, it would be for tonight. "So I'm my last year of high school right now."

Shuichi nodded. "So...you ran away from home?"

She stopped with her hands on a shirt she had been about to pull from her backpack. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I would rather not talk about it."

"Sorry."

She smiled at him in the mirror as she stood up. "Don't worry about it."

She was watching his reflection in the mirror on her wall, and saw him jump when the phone rang seconds later. "Could you get that?" he asked hesitantly. She was, after all, standing by a phone.

Picking it up, she said, "Hello?" in a rather shaky voice.

"Hey, this is Hiro. I was wondering if Shuichi got home alright," the voice, decidedly male, answered.

"Would you like to talk to him yourself?" she asked.

"That'd work." There was a pause. "Who is this, anyway?"

Ignoring him, she tossed Shuichi the phone and exited the room, heading downstairs.

Confused, Shuichi picked it up. "Hello?"

"Who was that girl?" Hiro asked right away.

"Huh?"

"The chick that answered. Who the hell was that?"

"Oh, her." Shuichi tried to sound as offhanded as possible. "She's...a friend of Yuki's from awhile back. Nobody special."

"Is she hot?" Hiro was curious about her, that much he let Shuichi know. What he didn't let slip is that he knew Shuichi was lying about her. They'd been friends for long enough for him to tell this kind of thing.

"Well..." Shuichi, on the other end, paled. "Um..."

Hiro waited patiently. "Yes?"

Shuichi sighed into the phone. "Yeah, I guess she is."

Hiro chuckled. "Expect me there tomorrow, then. I have some lyrics to drop off anyway. See ya!"

"Bye," came the dull reply before Hiro hung up. Shuichi sighed.

How complicated things were getting these days.

**-Downstairs-**

Standing alone in the kitchen, Alira turned in a circle a few times, taking in the perfect cleanliness. You would never guess that two men lived here.

_Then again, they're gay men, _Alira reminded herself. _Which means you can't go falling in love. _The very idea made her smile. Falling in love with a gay man. That would be a definite change from the straight, football obsessed men she was used to.

"Enjoying yourself?"

The smile faded as she turned to look at the blond angel of a man, Eiri Yuki. "Got any food in this unbearably clean kitchen of yours?" She looked around and shivered. "I need to spill something. This is just too weird."

"Get used to it. Help yourself to anything in the fridge." He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it a bit rumpled but still very attractive.

Yuki, she had recently learned, was a famous romance novelist. Commenting on his newest book or giving him suggestions wasn't something she was really up to, even though she could tell he was stuck. He acted a bit different when he had something on his mind, she had noticed.

Pulling open the fridge, the first thing she saw was alcoholic. Just to spite her overprotective parents, even if they couldn't see her, she grabbed a beer and moved to lean against the counter.

Yuki looked once at the drink, then his eyes shifted to her face. "Except for that."

She paused, her fingers on the tab. "What?"

He crossed the room and grabbed hold of the can. "You're underage, dumbass. You can't have that."

"You're not my father," she snapped.

"Thank God," he replied acidly, yanking the can away from her. He put it back in the fridge and removed a bottle of juice instead. "How old are you, anyway? Sixteen?"

"Eighteen," she replied icily.

"Still young," he replied. Then, he tossed her the bottle of juice. She missed it spectacularly.

The plastic bottle bounced twice, hit the counter, and rolled slowly back to be two feet in front of Yuki. Alira and Yuki watched until it stopped. She then lowered her hand and didn't move to get it.

Yuki picked it up and waked over to her. He pressed it into her hands. "You're the biggest failure I've ever met," he remarked, sounding highly amused.

She was reminded of her father.

"_You're a failure! You don't deserve to live!" her father had shouted, raising his hand again to slap her. She cringed but dared not block the blow. That would only make him angrier. Her lip was bleeding now, but she still stood there. She had to. Her right eye hurt terribly. He had hit her again. No matter what, she didn't cry. It was worse if she did._

A piece of hair fell in front of her eyes as she was remembering the previous day. Yuki, unable to help himself, reached out to push it away, as it was bothering him quite a bit.

Alira flinched back without thinking when she saw his hand, and ran into the counter, dropping the bottle of juice. Yuki, his hand still upraised, was visibly confused.

"I'm not going to hit you, idiot," he said, stepping forward again.

She sidestepped him and headed for the doorway, but he caught her wrist and stopped her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

She tugged against his iron grip to no avail. _Damn, he's too strong. I can't get away._

"You act like I'm about to murder you or something." He still didn't let go of her. The panic was visible in her eyes when she realized he could easily overpower her.

Holding her in place, he reached out to brush the hair away. When she tried to pull back again, his finger slipped and touched her cheek just below her right eye. He felt powder underneath his fingertips before she jerked backward. Makeup? He caught both wrists in one hand and touched beneath her other eye. Nothing. Why would she only put makeup under one eye?

Suddenly, he pulled her to the sink and dipped his hand under running water. He washed off some makeup from her right cheek, and was startled to see a bruise under her eye.

"Who hit you?" he asked, watching her eyes drop to look at the spotless countertop.

She didn't answer.

"You thought makeup could cover up something like this?" he demanded, yanking her arms so she would meet his eyes. "Who the hell did this?"

Alira looked away and didn't answer.

Yuki was growing angrier now. "Tell me right fucking now, or I'll give you another black eye to match this one."

"Go ahead," she said quietly. "I don't care anymore."

"I just might. Stop protecting this asshole, dumbshit." Yuki was secretly half ready to hit her, but restrained himself. _Play nice, _he reminded himself. "Tell me who hit you."

"I can't-"

Yuki's eyes flashed dangerously as he interrupted her. "You're staying right here until you tell me."

Alira met his eyes his time. Hers were hazel, more green than brown, he observed. Identical to the woman in his latest story. "I can stand here all night."

"So can I," he replied, pulling her to the living room. He sat on the couch, effortlessly tugging her down beside him. "But," he continued. "Standing is pointless when I have a perfectly useful couch right here."

"I don't get it," Alira said suddenly, breaking into the moment of silence. "Why do you care?"

Yuki smiled at her.

_Oh my God. _She found that her heart was beating faster. _He's...gorgeous. _

"I won't stand by while a pretty girl gets beat up by somebody stronger than her," he replied, realizing he sounded like the wonderful man in a romance novel.

She was silent.

Yuki said softly, as he realized that she wasn't going to say anything, "Your dad is a bastard."

She jumped and stared at him. "H-how...?"

"I could tell. I've seen it before. Tell you what: I won't kick you out if you want to stay here until this all blows over, okay?"

Tears fell now, taking dark eyeliner with them on the path down her cheeks. She raised the back of her hand to her black eye to wipe the tears away.

Without warning, Yuki took her in his arms and pulled her close.

"I'm g-going to get eyeliner on y-your shirt," she said shakily.

"Shut up already," he whispered, moving a hand to the back of her head to hold her there. "I don't care. If you're going to cry, just cry, dumbass."

Obeying him, Alira cried herself to sleep.

Yuki looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms. Her eyeliner was gone now, most of it on his the shoulder of his shirt. The makeup had been washed away and a livid bruise was clearly visible.

He slid down the couch so he could lean against the armrest as he held her. She looked so innocent and fragile, sleeping there in his arms.

If she didn't care about the black eye, what had her father done to make her run away from home?

Eiri Yuki was pissed again.

END CHAPTER

Yeah. I _am_ obsessive compulsive.

AND I LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT!

Overly sugar-hyped authoress over and out.


	3. Wake Up, Fall Down

Authoress here. I said this story was rated R, right? This is the highest rated story I've ever written, so expect some things that are a little...not PG-13.

I had the intent of writing a lemon, but pointless sex has no place in this story. If it doesn't fit, I won't write it.

Yeah! I can use contractions again! All those in my history/communications classes would understand.

START CHAPTER

Shuichi had gone downstairs the next morning to find his lover sound asleep with Alira in his arms, and didn't know what to think. A blanket was pulled over them and her head was resting on his shoulder. Both looked very comfortable where they were, which made tears well up in Shuichi's eyes.

He turned around and dashed out the door, slamming it behind him. Yuki awoke with a start and swore when he realized what had happened.

"Shit," he grumbled, his eyes shifting to the girl who still sat, sound asleep, on his lap. Her tank top had slid down, revealing quite a bit of her chest. "Shit," he whispered. This must have looked bad to Shuichi.

Alira's eyes opened slowly a moment later.

"You awake?"

The first thing she did after seeing him was deliver a slap to his face.

He shoved her off his lap and onto the floor. "What the hell was that for?" he snarled.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried, holding a hand over her mouth in shock. "You scared me!"

"I scared you? You're the one who turned on the waterworks last night and then fell asleep on me," he countered, his eyes flashing.

Looking abashed, Alira pulled her tank top up to cover herself before replying, "So it was real, then. I told you about..." She trailed off and raised a hand to her black eye.

"Speaking of which, I'll get you some ice for that. God knows I don't need anyone else whining about how much something hurts around here." He turned and walked to the kitchen, leaving Alira to sit alone on the floor.

"Where's Shuichi?" she called after him. "I haven't seen him yet today."

Yuki didn't answer for a moment. "He...left early."

"Oh."

He reentered the room with an icepack wrapped in a towel in one hand. Sighing when he saw she was still on the floor, he said curtly, "Get up."

She scrambled onto the couch again, and he sat down next to her, handing her the icepack. She gingerly held it to her eye, winced, and pulled it away.

Yuki sighed heartily and took it back. "Can't you do anything?" He moved to ice her eye for her, but she scrambled backwards.

"Don't touch me!"

He gave her an odd look. "What the hell are you going on about? I'm trying to help you, idiot. Sit still." She obeyed, and attempted to sit very still while he gently pressed the ice against her bruised eye. "He hit you pretty hard, didn't he?"

She didn't answer him. Her attention was focused on his left hand, which he had placed on her back to make sure she didn't try to escape him again.

Her heart thudded.

_He's gay. You don't have a chance. He has a boyfriend. _

He sighed. "You should learn how to fight back."

Her pride injured, Alira replied sharply, "I know how already."

"Oh?" Yuki tossed the icepack onto the coffee table before them and took hold of her shoulders. "Let's just see about that."

It all happened very fast. Within seconds, Yuki was on top of Alira, straddling her, holding her to the couch with his hands on her shoulders. Alira pushed against his chest to no avail as she struggled to get free.

Leaning down to whisper into her ear, Yuki said, "I thought you said you could fight."

Alira pushed against his hands, which were firmly on her shoulders. "I'm not strong enough. I...I can't fight back against you."

His breath tickled her ear with his reply. "What if I was a stranger on the streets who wanted to rape you? What would you do then?"

"I...don't know," she replied in a hushed voice.

"Remember this well, Alira. Other men won't be so forgiving." He leaned down so his lips were inches from her neck. Lightly and tenderly, his lips brushed against her neck. "Once you think you're stronger, come talk to me."

With that, he climbed off her and headed back into the kitchen.

Seeming to be frozen, Alira simply stayed where she had been. A little bit later, She sat up and put a hand to her neck.

_He's gay. You don't have a chance. He has a boyfriend, _she thought again.

But now, she wasn't so sure.

"I need to talk with Shuichi," she muttered.

"He's went to the recording studio," Yuki replied, causing her to jump. "But I would suggest a shower before you go. You smell awful."

Alira raised an eyebrow as she turned her head towards the doorway, not caring that he couldn't see her. "You're certainly polite."

"I'm also truthful."

Alira sighed, defeated. She wasn't sure how, after what had just happened, how he could talk as though he hadn't done anything. "Fine, fine. Where do you keep the towels?"

Yuki led her to the bathroom, provided her with clean towels, then left.

He headed downstairs and into the kitchen again, and relaxed when he heard the shower water running. He could think now. _What the hell made me do that? Why do I care? She's just some other stupid girl. But she's just...so... _

His thoughts trailed off when he realized that he couldn't think of one word to describe exactly what she was like. He was angry with himself. As a novelist, he should've been able to think of _something_.

Moments later, he heard the shower water shut off and the glass doors slide open.

After she had located a blow dryer, Alira dried her hair. She was startled at first by the flat iron she saw on the counter in the bathroom, but, reminding herself that the two men who lived there were lovers, she decided it wasn't really that odd. Once her hair was fixed, she headed out of the bathroom and started coming down the stairs.

From the kitchen, Yuki flinched as he heard her stumble down the stairs and fall. "You stupid fucking idiot," he muttered, throwing the dishtowel he had been using into the sink and stomping out to find her.

Alira, her face red, was in the process of sitting up when Yuki came into view. She was wearing the same pair of jeans she had been wearing the previous day, but the shirt was different. It was a tight dark green t-shirt with something in English that he couldn't read written across the chest.

He sighed, looking down at her. "Are you okay?"

Putting weight on her right wrist, Alira felt a sharp stab of pain. However, she didn't say anything. "Yeah, I just tripped. I'll be fine."

Yuki appraised her for a minute before asking, "Why the hell do you lie whenever you get hurt?"

Alira cringed back a bit, startled at how he read her so easily. "What do you mean?"

"You hurt your wrist. You can keep tears back, but you can't hide the pain I can see in your eyes, idiot."

She allowed herself to be helped up, muttering once she was firmly back on her feet, "No wonder you're a novelist."

"Hmm?" Yuki didn't bother to use words to express his confusion on what she had meant.

"Never mind," she replied. "You just used a lot of meaningful phrases, that's all."

Ten minutes later, Alira was riding in the passenger seat of Yuki's car, her wrist wrapped up in clean white bandages. She would have walked to hear Bad Luck recording a song, but Yuki had insisted ("You can't even go down stairs without getting hurt! You'd be a hazard to the whole city.") that she let him drive her.

As she entered the studio and saw Shuichi through the glass, she couldn't help but smile.

_He's perfect for Yuki, I think. I may not know them that well, but they're so cute together! _she thought. _I have to stop thinking there's a chance. He's gay. They both are. _

_I have to give up._

END CHAPTER

There it is. HISTORY DAY IS OVER!

Authoress out.


	4. Too Many Tears

Authoress here.

Hmm. The fourth chapter and yet I've steered clear of most perversion...

Weird. That's so unlike me. I'll try to make up for it in later chapters. An R-rated story for a reason, as I like to say!

Can anyone help me? I can't remember Yuki's brother's name. I think it starts with a "T," but I can't remember. It's driving me insane.

START CHAPTER

Alira, Yuki, and Shuichi all stood staring at each other for a moment. Suddenly, Shuichi's voice became clearer and he sang with all his soul.

Alira smiled as she realized his eyes were on Yuki._ Yuki really means a lot to him. _

Her eyes, on the other hand, were caught on the guitar player, who hadn't looked up yet. When Shuichi hit a spine tingling note, however, he snapped to attention and looked through the window. He rolled his eyes when he saw how Shuichi was reacting to Yuki's presence, clearing thinking_, why can't you sing like that all the time?_

Alira smiled at Yuki. "They're good." She ran a hand through her hair, revealing her red-brown roots even more.

"Will you dye your fucking hair back? It's pissing me off."

Alira glanced at Yuki's blond hair and realized instantly that she had been going against everything his color stood for. His hair clearly said, "I'm different and I don't care. Fuck you."

She lowered her hand. "Sure. No problem."

Yuki turned then to look at Shuichi, and Alira smiled again when she saw the emotion written in his eyes. Love was there, clearly wrought. She couldn't help smiling. Love, in any form, was beautiful to her.

**-Meanwhile-**

"Mr. Montosuwa, I'm only telling you what we know. We haven't found her yet." The police chief, Hikaru Aki, folded his hands in front of him and placed them on his desk.

Mr. Montosuwa glared. "I've been here enough where you can call me by my first name. I would assume you know full well what that is."

"Teizo," Hikaru said, calling the man before him in a less formal matter. "We're currently doing all we can to find her. She's gotten better at avoiding us since last time."

"Trying isn't good enough in this situation," Teizo snarled. "She's not mentally stable. She could snap at any time. After seeing her mother die, she's been scarred emotionally."

"You never did tell me that whole story," Hikaru remarked, now somewhat interested.

Teizo sighed and sank heavily onto a chair in front of the desk. "It was a car accident. All three of us were there: Alira, her mother, and myself. Kristine, her mother, was badly hurt and bled to death in front of us. Alira has never been able to get that memory out of her mind, even after fourteen years.

"I couldn't raise her by myself, so I sent her to live with her Aunt, my sister, Rika. My visits to see her have always been short." He offered no more information, but Hikaru remained silent, processing what he had heard.

Teizo could still feel the wetness of tears on his hand from slapping Alira. She should have kept her mouth shut.

She shouldn't have ever mentioned Kristine after that happened. She shouldn't have shouted that it was his fault that she was gone. Because he had been driving after a few glasses of sake, she had said, her mother was gone. It was not true, as he had shouted at her before. He hadn't had any drinks that night.

Alira looked so much like her American mother, he couldn't bear having her yell at him like that.

Now, she had run away again, meaning she got the last words of argument in. he wouldn't stand for that. No daughter of his had the right to disobey him like that.

"Hikaru," he said quietly. "You have to find her."

"We'll do our best, sir," Hikaru replied, using the same hackneyed phrase he always did.

"Be sure that you do." Dressed in a crisp business suit, Teizo Montosuwa left to go to work.

It was then that Hikaru sighed and rubbed his temple. Truth be told, Alira was giving him quite a bit of trouble. Mr. Montosuwa, owner of Montosuwa Electronics, could only keep it a secret that his daughter was missing for a short time. That short time was steadily coming to an end.

"Alira," he said aloud. "Why the hell do you keep doing this?"

**-At the recording studio-**

"That was awesome!" After he had finished singing, Shuichi had negotiated leaving early and won. Now, he, Alira, and Yuki were on the way back to Yuki's house.

Shuichi turned around in his seat to grin sheepishly at Alira. "You think so?"

She nodded and smiled back.

Yuki made a sharp left turn, and Shuichi hurriedly turned back in his seat to remain uninjured. He struck up a simple conversation with Yuki, and Alira fell silent to listen. She felt compelled to learn a bit more about both of them.

When they got back, Shuichi whispered something to Yuki and the pair headed upstairs after kissing once.

Alira shivered, knowing exactly what was going on a floor above her. It wasn't that the two men together bothered her, it was hearing the springs squeaking from the room above that made her uncomfortable.

Feeling a bit bored, she wandered around the first floor until she came to a room where the door was open just a crack. Being a very curious person by nature, she opened the door the rest of the way.

The room appeared to be a study, illuminated only by the glowing of a computer screen. Alira walked behind it to read the document that was open.

After only a few seconds, she felt embarrassed. As she was about to scuttle out of the room, a blinking in the corner of the screen caught her attention. Yuki had an email.

_I shouldn't do this. _Alira put her hand on the mouse. _I can't read his email!_

She double clicked on the link to the message before she could change her mind (_I'm a horrible person! _she thought hysterically) and quickly read what it said.

"Dear Eiri Yuki:

As a fan of yours, I was disgusted to learn that you are a homosexual. You deceived me and many other fans into thinking you were normal.

Homosexuality is wrong, and I can't believe you of all people are one. I feel sorry for your family. Your mother and father must be ashamed to have conceived a son who turned out like you.

Sincerely,

Tachikara Kazumi

P.S. I am burning all of the books I own written by you."

Alira couldn't believe her eyes. Someone had sent Yuki hate mail?

She immediately deleted the email. _Even if he's kind of an asshole, Yuki doesn't deserve that kind of crap, _she thought as she headed into the kitchen.

She looked at the clock. It was 7:43 already. She smiled a little as she opened the fridge. She could make them a nice dinner unless they were too busy upstairs.

Alira flushed again at the thought of it, and seized some food to prepare for dinner.

She was too wrapped up in her thoughts to hear Yuki and Shuichi come down roughly an hour later.

She had pulled her hair into a ponytail and had her back to the doorway as the two men entered.

Shuichi spoke first. "You made us dinner?"

Alira started like a spooked horse, then tuned to look at him. "I figured I might as well. If you don't like it, that's too damn bad. Make your own fucking dinner next time."

Shuichi immediately complimented her cooking before even taking a bite, and she smiled appreciatively at him. She looked quite a bit different when she wasn't wearing heavy makeup. She looked more innocent and alive.

She no longer looked like the type of girl who would spend her afternoons doing drugs. The type teachers deem lost causes and don't even try to help.

They all sat down, and Shuichi noticed that Alira was watching Yuki hopefully as he tried some of the sushi she had made.

"You made this?"

"If it tastes like shit, don't bother telling me," she said with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

"You don't have to swear so much," Shuichi said, cutting off whatever Yuki was going to say. "You don't sound like a nice person when you swear."

Alira cast Shuichi a startled glance, her chopsticks still holding a chunk of spicy chicken above her plate. She chuckled softly and ate it a moment later. "I don't think I'm the type would think of as being a nice person anyway, Shuichi, so it doesn't matter."

His mouth full, Shuichi countered by saying, "I think you're nice."

She laughed lightly. "Thanks."

Dinner went without a hitch, but Alira couldn't help but think about the hate mail she had deleted. She felt guilty about going into Yuki's study and reading it in the first place, but she couldn't figure out why anyone would want to write him something like that. It bothered her that, just because they were both men, people thought less of them.

The name seemed familiar as well. _Tachikara Kazumi, _she mused thoughtfully as she was brushing her teeth before bed later that night. _I know I've heard that name before._

Suddenly, it hit her. Tachikara Kazumi was her father's secretary. Her Aunt Riku had mentioned her over dinner to her husband, when she thought Alira was too young to understand, that she suspected Teizo and Tachikara were having an affair even before the accident.

Her mother had never known. Kristine Montosuwa had been so nice. She used all of her free time to make Alira happy.

_Her mother was lying on the pavement, bleeding. _

Alira cried out softly as the images swam across her mind.

_Her breath was coming in shallow gasps. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were slowly closing. Alira was at her side, cradling her in her arms and repeating her name over and over again. She was sobbing, old enough to know her mother was dying._

_Her mother's heartbeat stopped, but the four-year-old Alira's weeping did not._

Alira's vision became distorted with tears. Her toothbrush fell from her hand and landed in the porcelain sink.

Alone in the bathroom, she sank to the floor and cried softly so that no one could hear her.

**-In Yuki's room-**

"Get the hell out of here," Yuki snapped at the teenage boy who was lying on the other side of his bed, looking at him. "I'm tired."

"Can't you just hold me while I sleep?" Shuichi asked hopefully, pulling the covers up to his chin.

Yuki rubbed his forehead. "I have a headache. Just sleep in your own damn room tonight. I'm not in the mood for this."

Shuichi snuggled against Yuki, pressing his cheek against Yuki's back. "You were 'in the mood' earlier."

Yuki didn't pull away. "That was earlier, not now. I'm tired."

Shuichi sighed contentedly. "I would be happy just to stay here with you, like this, all night."

"Fine." Yuki pulled away from the warmth of his lover and sat up. "I'm going to go take some Aspirin."

Shuichi nodded as he watched Yuki leave the room, his t-shirt clinging to his chest. "Hurry back." Yuki didn't look back as he left.

As he passed the bathroom, Yuki could hear someone crying softly on the other side of the door. He raised a hand to knock, reconsidered, and headed to retrieve the bottle of Aspirin that he always kept in his study, just in case.

After he was downstairs, Alira opened the bathroom door and headed to her room.

Shuichi was leaning on the wall outside Yuki's room, and it was obvious even from a distance that he was crying.

She stopped in front of him. "Is something wrong?"

Shuichi nodded tearfully. "I think Yuki is mad at me."

Alira was uncomfortable. How was she supposed to comfort him? "Nah, I don't think so. He's probably just under stress right now. Don't worry about it."

"You think so?" he asked, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand.

She nodded. "Yeah."

Shuichi smiled and thanked her before bidding her goodnight and heading back to bed. Alira walked slowly to her room and flopped onto the bed.

Alira found that she couldn't sleep. She glanced at the clock. It was 1:57 AM already.

To pass the time, Alira reached into her backpack, pulled out a notebook and pencil, and began to write.

_I thought about Mom again today. God, I miss her. I can't remember her without seeing her lying there on the ground, and that hurts most of all. I can't picture her face without it being bloody._

_I'm like her, I think. She emotional and bruised easily. She always wore eyeliner as a teenager too. She was a rebel. _

_And like her...I cry at night when no one can hear me. _

"Bullshit," said a voice from behind her. The light from her bedroom had attracted Yuki's attention, and he was standing so he could see over her shoulder.

"Bullshit," he repeated, softer this time. "I heard you."

Alira was silent, not knowing how to reply. She closed the pencil in the notebook and set it aside before lying down and turning her back to Yuki.

"Go ahead and cry," he said, turning to leave. "I won't listen."

He closed the door behind him quietly, not wanting to wake Shuichi, as he exited the room.

Alira lay awake for a long time, but stubbornly refused to cry.

END CHAPTER

I'm sleepy...my contacts are going fuzzy. Clearly, I've been awake for too long.

I'm going to bed.

Authoress over and out.


	5. Hair Dye Lies and Guys With Guns

Authoress here.

Ryuichi Sakuma is awesome. I just felt the need to clarify that. If anyone has noticed, he hasn't been mentioned at all in this story. Weird, huh?

Neither has Tohma, Tatsuha (Thanks for the help in remembering his name!), K, Suguru Fujisaki, Ayaka, or Sakano. I'm leaving out some of the best characters!

START CHAPTER

"Morning, Alira." Shuichi had awoken early the next morning and come downstairs when he smelled breakfast cooking. When he saw a mound of golden pancakes sitting on the table, his mouth began to water.

"You made us pancakes?"

Alira turned to him and smiled. She looked tired, but overall pleased with herself.

Shuichi returned the smile, even wider than hers, when he saw she was wearing a Bad Luck concert t-shirt. He chose to ignore her black pants with chains hanging from them, the type of pants teachers fear students for. "You went to that concert?"

She looked down and her shirt and flushed. "Yeah. It probably goes without saying, but I'm a big fan of yours."

"What smells down here?"

"Good morning to you too, Yuki." Alira turned her back to Yuki as he entered the room to get some orange juice from the fridge.

"I never said it smelled bad," he countered, taking a seat at the table.

Alira moved carefully around the kitchen in her stocking feet so she wouldn't slip on the glossy linoleum tiles when she went to put the carton of juice on the table. "There are eggs and sausages cooking too, if you'll wait a minute."

Yuki poured a glass of juice before taking a pancake from the stack. Examining the underside, he observed, "You burnt it."

Alira removed the pan of eggs from the stove and dropped some onto the two men's plates, not answering Yuki.

"You burnt the eggs too," he commented.

Alira snapped. "If you don't like it, don't eat it. My mom never got the chance to teach me how to cook."

Silence greeted her outburst, broken only by the sizzling of sausages. When they were done, Alira served Yuki and Shuichi. She then exited the kitchen.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Shuichi called after her.

"I'm not hungry," came the expressionless reply.

Alira headed to the front door to take a walk and blow off some steam, but a sudden knock caused her to jump.

"I'll get it," she called before tugging the door open.

Alira's mouth dropped open a few inches as she stood there, dumbfounded, at the sight of Bad Luck's guitar player, Hiroshi Nakano.

He blinked at her. "You must be Alira." His eyes flickered to her black eye. It was getting better, but it was still visible. He decided not to ask her about it just yet.

Alira nodded slowly as Shuichi entered their view, his chopsticks still in his hand. "Hiro? What's up?"

Hiroshi looked away from Alira, who was still gaping at him. Meeting one member of Bad Luck was one thing, but two in the same place at the same time was another. She was dumbstruck.

"I never gave you these lyrics from yesterday," Hiro explained, holding out a few sheets of lined paper. "I wanted to know what you thought about them."

Shuichi read them over as Alira edged out the front door past Hiroshi.

"Leaving?" he asked, causing her to jump.

"Uh...yeah, I'm just going to go take a walk," she said hurriedly as she rushed out to the street.

Five minutes later, she was sitting on a bench in the park, her head in her hands. She wasn't particularly concerned with being spotted by the police.

A bag from a local drug store was sitting next to her. Inside was a kit to strip the dye from her hair. The cops were looking for a girl with dyed black hair, not a redhead. She would be a bit safer if people were watching for her.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Alira jumped to her feet, grabbing the bag.

Hikaru Aki was standing in front of her, looking rather grim. "Your father is worried sick about you, Miss Montosuwa."

"Let him worry," she replied harshly. "He deserves it."

Hikaru sighed at the teenager before him. Although he was older than her by only five years, his uniform made him seem older. "He's asked us to find you, Miss Montosuwa, and bring you home."

"You know my name, Hikaru," Alira replied. "Call me by it."

"Miss Montosuwa," he said, ignoring her completely. "It's time for you to come back home."

Alira backed up slowly. "Over my dead body," she whispered. "This isn't any of your business, so fuck off."

Hikaru stepped forward. "Don't you dare speak to me that way."

Alira clutched the bag tighter. "I'll say whatever I want to you, Hikaru. This doesn't concern you in the least, so keep your nose out of my business."

"You know, you've been giving the police force more trouble than all the criminals combined. At least they know when to give up," Hikaru said coldly.

"You don't get it, do you? I'll never let my guard down like this again. You should've grabbed me when you had the chance. Good-bye, Hikaru. You won't be seeing me again if I can help it."

She turned then, and ran away from the officer before her.

He did not follow.

**-Back at Yuki's house-**

"So..." Hiroshi began. "Where did she come from?"

Shuichi glanced over. "Alira? She's...a runaway from off the streets. We don't even know her last name. She never told us."

"A runaway?" Hiro set down the cup of tea he had been given in a show of hospitality. "You and Yuki could go to jail just for letting her stay here, you know."

Shuichi looked into his cup of tea. "I know that."

"So why are you letting her stay here?"

"Did you see her black eye?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

"Her dad hit her. Yuki told me."

Hiro shrugged. "That could be one reason to run away from home."

The front door opened moments later, and Alira rushed inside, her breath coming in harsh gasps.

She walked into the living room, not realizing Hiroshi and Shuichi were in there until it would have been more awkward of a situation if she had left.

"Did you run here?"

Alira hesitated before nodding once. She sank down onto the couch.

"Alira...what's your last name again?" Hiroshi asked slyly.

"I didn't say," she replied carefully.

"That's why I asked." Alira cast him a slightly amused look. Aside from being attractive, he was witty.

Standing up again with the plastic bag still in her hands, she headed upstairs to strip the dye from her hair, choosing not to respond to Hiroshi.

She pulled opened a closet and tugged out two towels, one for her body and one for her hair. She turned around and immediately dropped the two towels that she had been holding in her arms.

_Just a mirror, _she thought, her heart beating fast as she stared at her reflection. _Why am I so jumpy?_

Scooping up her towels and the hair kit, Alira went into the bathroom. She made sure that she had locked the bathroom door before stepping into the shower to return her hair to the natural color.

When she exited the bathroom about a half an hour later, she had a towel wrapped around her hair even though it was dry.

"Umm...Yuki?" she called down the stairs. Carefully, she went down the steps and found Yuki standing in the hallway with a glass of something foul smelling in his hand.

"Hmm?"

"Umm..." Her face was pink and she was holding onto her towel firmly. "Can you drive me up to the store?"

"Why?" he asked, taking a swig of his drink, draining the glass.

"Umm..." she said again, shifting her weight to her other foot. "You know how you told me to dye my hair back? It...umm...didn't work too well."

"What do you mean by that?"

Alira hesitated, then removed the towel.

Her hair, now bright purple, tumbled down to her mid-back.

"I have to dye it back. Will you drive me to the store?"

"No," he replied calmly. "Why don't you walk there? I'm busy." He went to pour himself another drink.

"You look busy," she informed him sarcastically.

"Fair enough." He set the drink down, and walked into his living room, Alira tailing him. He grabbed Shuichi and tugged him off the couch. "_Now_ I'm busy."

Alira stood rigid as Yuki and Shuichi went past her.

Hiroshi was trying not to laugh. She couldn't tell if it was because of her neon hair or the event that had frozen the teenage girl to the spot.

"I've got a motorcycle," he offered. "I can drive you."

She smiled at him. "Okay, but maybe I should tell you..." She bit her lip. "The police are kind of looking for me."

"I won't speed then," he replied, motioning for her to follow him.

An hour later, when her hair was reddish-brown again, Alira smiled warmly at Hiroshi. "Thanks for taking me there."

"No problem." He turned to leave since Shuichi was "busy" upstairs. "Hey, since you went to our concert, you'll be the first one to get a copy of our new CD when it comes out."

"Thanks! Bye, Hiroshi!"

She smiled as he drove off. He had mentioned a girl named Ayaka that he had said was cute, but she couldn't help thinking about how cute _he _was.

Alira glanced at her watch. It had gotten later than she realized, so she abandoned making dinner and headed upstairs to go to sleep. She opened the door to her bedroom, and jumped when she saw someone inside. When he turned, Alira saw a gun in his hand.

A piercing scream filled the night air, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

The man, a tall blonde American, stepped forward. "Oops. Wrong room."

END CHAPTER

Can I say something? Too bad!

The DVD subtitles to Gravitation are horrible. I watched part of the first one, and they got the names wrong. Yuki became Kwan, Shuichi Shindou was changed to Showe Shingtong, Tohma was Tung Ma, Hiroshi was "Ho" and "Hosze" and...

It was just annoying. I could barely understand anything since there were typos and grammar issues in the subtitles. "Son of the bitch!" Ah, the beauty of subs.

Still, I remain a faithful fan!

Authoress out.


	6. Questioning Life and Ayaka

Authoress a few inches to the left...there!

I appreciate all the reviews I've gotten on this story, several of which included constructive criticism. Thanks a lot!

START CHAPTER

"You broke into my house with a gun?"

"Yup."

"_You broke into my fucking house with a gun_?"

"It wasn't exactly breaking in. The window was unlocked."

Shuichi sighed and glanced down at Alira. "How many times do people around here have to scare her?"

Yuki sighed too. "At least Tatsuha hasn't stopped by for a visit."

Alira sat bolt upright as soon as she woke up. "There's a guy with a gun! Someone, call the police!" When she saw K, she became even more hysterical. "That's him! He's got a gun! Help!"

"Umm..." Shuichi seemed to be at a temporary loss for words.

"Shut up," Yuki snarled. "Since I'm up, I'm going back to work. Anyone who bothers me dies slowly and painfully." He exited the room.

Alira kept a watchful eye on the blonde American with a gun. He made her nervous, and for good reason. After all, she wasn't exactly accustomed to guys running around with guns.

"It's okay...he's kinda my agent. Alira, this is K. Don't be worried about the gun. He hasn't shot anybody yet!" Shuichi had seen how closely she was watching K, and felt the need to explain that the rather imposing man wasn't really a threat.

Alira nodded to K instead of shaking his hand. "That's reassuring."

It was very late by the time she actually went to bed, but Alira pitied Shuichi more. K had shown up to take him to the recording studio early ("This is early? You didn't even let me get any sleep!"), leaving her alone in the house with Yuki. Since he was working on his book, she decided to leave him alone for a while.

She instead went to sit on the couch before the TV to watch some mindless entertainment when a police message interrupted the program.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin! Teizo Montosuwa, head of Montosuwa Electronics, has just reported that his daughter is missing. Alira Montosuwa, eighteen, disappeared a few days ago and there has been no sign of her yet. She was last seen wearing a black tank top and jeans. Her hair is black and her eyes are hazel."

A picture of the still black haired Alira appeared on the screen. Her breath caught in her throat. She was a wanted girl.

"He is offering a substantial reward to anyone with information on her whereabouts. She is considered dangerous and emotionally unstable. She left her house after taking a decorative katana and a butcher knife. If you see any sign of her, keep your distance. Please call the police immediately. We will now return to the scheduled programming."

Alira turned off the television and sat in the dark. She didn't quite know what to do.

"Wanted by the police?"

Her heart sped up and she turned her head to see the speaker, who looked furious.

Yuki was standing in the doorway, his eyes fixated on her. He had been making a habit of showing up at the most inconvenient times and places lately.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear the cops want you."

"It's not what you think, Yuki," she began.

"Shut up. Why are they after you? Did you do something illegal?"

"Yuki-"

"Answer my fucking question. If I go to jail because of you, I'm going to make it for a good reason. A reason with a punishment of twenty-five to life. Answer me."

Alira frowned and bowed her head. "I ran away from home."

Yuki scoffed. "You're eighteen. It's not illegal."

"When you're the daughter of a powerful businessman it is. I...got into an argument with him about how my mom died. My dad was drunk, so I always blamed him for it. That was the first time that I shouted it at him, though."

"And he got pissed off?"

She nodded. "He hit me a couple times, then told me that it was my fault she was dead. I couldn't take it anymore, so I left. He wants me to go back to benefit him. There's a rival company owner with a son my age. Dad wants me to date that guy so he can be on friendlier terms with the other company."

"That, on the other hand, is pushing it a little."

"I don't have a katana or a knife. We don't even _own _a katana," she offered as a further defense.

With a wave of his hand, Yuki snapped, "Go to bed. It's late."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"You're a fugitive in my fucking house, so you'll do whatever the hell I want to," he snarled. "Go to bed."

She frowned at him before standing up obediently.

"Who took you to fix your hair?" Yuki asked suddenly.

Alira felt around for the light switch so she wouldn't fumble her way around in the dark. "Hiroshi Nakano."

"Don't get any ideas about him," Yuki warned, clearly still angry about K coming through a window with a gun. "He has a girlfriend already."

Finding the switch, Alira turned the light on and swept past him on her way out, not replying. As a Bad Luck fan, she already knew the romantic lives of all members. She knew about Shuichi's a bit more than the others, but that was to be expected.

Still, she couldn't help but think about Hiroshi as she drifted off to sleep that night before the police report. He was truly a great person. He barely even knew her when he took her to the store to fix her neon purple hair. He was attractive. He could play the guitar, something she had always thought of as a perk. Most of all, though, was the glaring fact that he already had a girlfriend.

Tossing that thought aside, it was time to worry about Hikaru or any of the police catching up to her. She knew that if she was found living in Yuki's house, all the people she had come to enjoy the company of could be tossed in jail.

The judges would never listen to her if she was put on trial, and the only people she had to testify on her behalf were a two rock stars and a novelist. If the jury wasn't already biased, chances are that one or two homophobic people would vote against her just for bringing a gay man to the stand.

_Right then. I'll just dodge the cops for the rest of my miserable little life. That sounds like fun. _

She could hear Yuki walking into his bedroom, meaning she could hear him swear when he stumbled over something. Odd. She had never thought of him as the type that would ever trip over something.

_I've missed so much school, _she realized abruptly, suddenly overcome by a wave of dread. _What if I don't graduate? _

She was so concerned she didn't even notice she had started talking out loud. "What if I never go to college? I'll be stuck making fast food for the rest of my life, living on the streets. I don't have a future anymore because of all this. I'll go to jail. I'm never going to get married. For that matter, I'll never get a boyfriend either."

In his room, Yuki had just gotten comfortable when he heard Alira talking to herself. He squeezed his eyes shut, and flung off the covers. He went to her room fairly quickly and shoved the door open.

"What the hell are you ranting about?"

"I don't have a future now," she replied softly. "I'm a criminal."

A sudden weight on the side of her bed caused her to jump a little. Yuki placed a hand to his forehead. This was weird. "You...have a future. You're not a criminal because you haven't done anything wrong."

"Yuki?"

"Hmm?"

Alira had her back to him and her eyes shut. "Will you testify on my behalf when I go to court?"

He paused. "_If _you go to court, I will."

Another pause. "Yuki?"

"What now?"

"Is Ayaka nice?"

Yuki nodded a few times, not seeming to realize her back was to him, before he replied, "Yeah."

"That's good." He saw that she was smiling a little.

"Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to make sure Hiroshi was happy," she answered quietly.

Yuki sighed and yanked her hair lightly. "If you're that in love with him, make your move."

She didn't flinch when he tugged her hair, but did when he finished talking. "He's taken."

"So was I when I meet Shuichi. Ayaka had been my fiancé."

"I don't want to interfere with any other relationships. My being here has already screwed up the one between you and Shuichi," she remarked, turning to face him and sitting up. "I just want him to be happy."

Yuki stood up again. "Whatever you say, but you'll be unhappy in the long run. If you're better now..." She blushed a bit. "I'm headed back to bed. Everyone wants to disrupt my sleep tonight."

"What do you mean?" Alira called slyly as Yuki headed down the hallway. "Shuichi isn't home yet."

"You're a pervert," he called back.

She grinned. "That's what my friends in America thought too."

"They were right. Goodnight."

"G'night."

_Despite all the publicity and the hype, he's really no different from any other guy. Even if he is hot, Yuki's heart belongs to someone else. I'm glad he and Shuichi are together, though. _

_They're both happy this way._

She smiled as she lay down to go to sleep. _Maybe Yuki is right. Maybe I do have a future. Things can only go up from here. _

**-In the police station-**

"Sir! A woman just called in to report a sighting of Miss. Montosuwa!"

Hikaru nearly dropped the file he was holding. "Really?"

"Yep. She saw her in the park."

"D-did she? Was she...with anyone?"

The other officer scratched his head and looked at his notes. "She said Alira was with an attractive young gentleman, probably her boyfriend."

Hikaru smiled at being called an 'attractive young gentleman' before saying, "The park? That doesn't really help. We have no idea where she's staying."

"Sounds like someone's protecting her."

Hikaru's eyes fell upon the magazine a female officer had left on the chair by his desk to see a full color picture of Yuki Eiri and Shuichi Shindou kissing.

"Did Seiko leave that there?"

The other officer stood up to what his boss was pointing at before nodding.

"Throw it out or something. We need to get to work, and that magazine isn't helping. Where could she be staying?" Hikaru asked, oblivious to the truth inches from his fingertips.

END CHAPTER

School is evil. So very, very evil.

My teacher, Mr. Talks With Hands, gave us a lot of homework. Jerk.

Authoress out.


	7. You're Safe Now

Authoress here. Still. I never left.

Seriously.

START CHAPTER

Alira was confused. The recipe said to add one cup of flour, but then it changed to two later on in the recipe. Which was the typo? She sighed and shook her head at the book. How was she supposed to make muffins for breakfast when she didn't know how much flour to add?

She glared at the recipe book before slamming it shut to find another one that had the recipe for banana nut muffins. She opened another book and flipped the glossy pages to the index. Blueberry muffins would have to do, and it was entirely possible, considering Yuki seemed to always have fresh fruit tucked away in his refrigerator somewhere.

By the time she had put the first batch into the over, Yuki was already hard at work on his book. He seemed to be spending a considerable amount of his time typing away on his laptop.

Shuichi had come back early in the morning and was almost asleep before he reached his room, so she wasn't really expecting him to wake up any time soon.

Brushing the pieces of shorter hair that had fallen from her ponytail back behind her ears, Alira leaned back against the counter to wait for the muffins to be done. She had promised herself, after the pancakes and eggs incident, that she wouldn't burn anything else that she was to serve to Yuki and Shuichi. Becoming a good cook was on her list of things to do before she died.

A knock on the door caused her to swear. If whoever was there distracted her and the muffins burned, she would give up making them and sulk for an hour.

She went to the door and opened it without thinking. A young policeman stood before her. She froze.

"Excuse me miss, you haven't seen a young woman about your age, I'd say, come past here?"

She blinked. With her red hair, he didn't recognize her? "Do you mean...what's her name? The Montosuwa girl?"

He nodded. "Yep. You seen her?"

Alira shook her head. "No, I haven't. Why? She's not in this area, is she? I heard she was armed and dangerous."

"Who the hell is at the door?"

_Shit. Perfect timing, Yuki, _she thought sarcastically.

"Tell them to go away!"

Alira flushed a little. "Umm...sorry about him. He's not in a good mood right now."

"Your husband?"

"Husband? Oh, God, no! I'm his maid."

The officer laughed and nodded. "Well, thanks anyway. If you see her, be sure to call the cops."

She nodded right back and offered him a very fake smile before shutting the door.

"Holy shit," she whispered, leaning her back against the door.

"Who was it?" Yuki had given up shouting since she hadn't answered, and had even gone so far as to bring his laptop with him when he came to find out for himself.

Alira put a hand to her collarbone. "It was a cop. He didn't recognize me since I'm a redhead again."

"Dumbshits," Yuki said, taking a seat on the couch. He balanced the computer on his lap, and resumed typing.

Alira watched him for a moment until he noticed her and closed the laptop. "You're getting on my nerves."

"Sorry."

Yuki sniffed the air and made a face. "Is something burning?"

"Shit!" Alira dashed into the kitchen and used a pair of oven mitts to pull the pan of muffins out. She set them on top of the stove to cool, tossed the oven mitts onto the counter, and left the room.

Yuki fanned the smoggy air as he went into the kitchen, and saw the tray of muffins. He took a knife from a drawer and prodded one of the muffins. It crumbled like a charcoal briquette, and a pathetic shriveled blueberry stuck to the tip of the knife. He tossed the knife into the sink, blueberry and all, disgusted by the burnt mess. It probably wouldn't come out of the pan and he'd have to buy new ones.

Alira, true to her mental promise, had headed upstairs to sulk. "Stupid cops. Stupid muffins." She examined a burn on her right hand from her reckless handling of the pan. "Stupid cooking."

She was sitting, leaned up against the wall, in the hallway. When Shuichi came out of his room, yawning widely, Alira moved her legs out of the way so he could pass by.

He said something that sounded a bit like "good morning," but he was yawning when he said it, so Alira wasn't exactly sure.

Shuichi staggered sleepily down the stairs and into the smoky kitchen to find Yuki with his back turned, opening a window to air out the room.

Shuichi crept up behind Yuki, slipped his arms around his waist, and stood on his tiptoes to nibble his ear. Yuki turned around to deliver a kiss to his teenage lover.

"Sleep well?" he murmured.

Shuichi nodded against Yuki's strong chest, having not relinquished his grip.

"What's that smell?" he asked a moment later.

Yuki gestured to the unappetizing mess on the oven. "Muffins."

"Alira?"

"Yep."

"I'm going out for awhile," Alira called a second later. "Be back later!"

"How much later? I'm not cleaning up that mess you left in the kitchen."

A door slamming shut answered Yuki's reply.

"I think you pissed her off," Shuichi commented.

Alira crossed her arms as she wandered aimlessly around. She figured that if one policeman hadn't recognized her with her red hair, none of the others would either. She doubted her father knew her hair wasn't naturally black, so she wasn't in too much danger. It was rush hour for people headed to work, so it took a bit longer to get around, but Alira didn't mind. It was just more people for the police to look at and consider. They would ignore the redhead.

As she passed by a tall building downtown, Alira came to the realization that she had no idea where she had wandered. She cast a glance around her, growing slightly worried. People bumped into her when she slowed down, so she veered off the sidewalk and stood out of the way while she contemplated where she was.

_Maybe if I keep going, I'll see something familiar. _Following that thought, Alira moved back in with the mass of people heading to work.

Nearly an hour later, Alira was even more lost. Her feet hurt, and she was in a part of town she had never seen before. To top it all off, she couldn't call Yuki since she didn't know his phone number. Since he was famous, he wasn't listed in the phone book. Calling the police or her father wouldn't help either, and all her close friends lived in America.

"Great," she muttered, sinking down onto a bench. "Just wonderful."

"Can I help you with something, miss?" She turned to see a man older than her by maybe two yearsslide onto the bench.

"No, I was actually just leaving."

He caught her by the elbow as she started to stand up. "You sure? You look lost and kinda lonely to me."

She tugged her arm away. "Leave me alone."

He grabbed her around the waist and brought her close, like he was about to kiss her, and pulled a knife from the inside of his jacket. He showed her the glinting blade before he put it away and hissed, "Don't say a fucking word or you die, bitch."

She swallowed hard before nodding. She allowed herself to be steered off the sidewalk and to a parking lot, where he kept hold of her with one hand and pulled open a car door with the other. "Get in."

When she didn't move, he unsheathed the knife. "Get in," he repeated more firmly.

Alira exhaled shakily, then climbed into the backseat. The man sheathed the knife and tossed it, along with his jacket, into the front seat. Then, he joined her in the back.

"You know what's coming, don't you?" he asked, reaching out to brush a wisp of hair off her cheek. She slapped his hand away.

"I can make a guess."

He chuckled. "I love it when they fight back." He reached over and placed a hand on her cheek, sliding over to be next to her. "You got a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Then nobody's gonna care if do this." He used his free hand to press her against the back of the seat as he pressed his mouth over hers. His tongue forced its way into her mouth.

Before she knew what had happened, he was straddling her as she lay on her back in the backseat of the car. He slipped a hand underneath her shirt.

"No!" Alira pushed against his chest as hard as she could, but couldn't get him off her. He caught her wrists in one hand and held them.

"You're not strong enough," he muttered, a devilish grin creeping its way onto his face. "Why don't you just calm down?"

_The knife. I have to get the knife._

"Don't even try it," he said calmly as she struggled to get her hands free and grab the knife. "I'm stronger than you."

He placed his mouth over hers again and kissed her forcefully. His hand snuck under her shirt again.

_I can't fight back._

He slipped his hand underneath her bra.

_I'm scared. _

"Help me," she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Someone."

He chuckled. "No one can hear you except me."

"Get off!" she cried, thrusting her knee into his groin.

Angered, he caught hold of her hair and twisted it around his fist.

She slapped him as hard as she could when she realized he had dropped her hands, leaving scratch marks from her fingernails. Shocked, he let go of her hair and jerked back.

"Bad move," she cried, lunging forward and seizing the knife. She tugged the sheath off and pointed it at him, using her other hand to fix her shirt and pull the binder from her hair.

She felt behind her for the door handle and unlocked it as he sat and watched, thoroughly taken aback.

After she was out, Alira slammed the door shut, dropped the knife, and ran as fast as she could away from his car. She didn't know where she was running to besides away from him.

It was growing darker quickly as she ran along, but she barely even noticed. When she was out of breath, she gripped a light pole and panted, bent over.

"Alira?"

She straightened up to see Hiroshi on his motorcycle, tugging off his helmet and staring at her. When he saw the look of relief in her eyes, he pulled his motorcycle to the curb and dropped his helmet to encircle her in his arms.

"I don't know what happened, but you're safe now," he whispered, stroking her hair as she buried her face against his chest. "You're safe."

END CHAPTER

Did I make anyone cry? That would actually make me kind of happy, because that's what I was going for.

Authoress out.


	8. Sister?

Authoress currently residing before your very eyes.

The plot of this story has changed so much since I started it. Originally, it was going to be a Yuki/Alira pairing, then Shuichi/Alira, then Yuki/Shuichi and Alira as a bystander-houseguest, and then Tatsuha/Alira, and finally, it's Hiroshi/Alira.

And you know what else? PenPusherM mentioned the pun "Hiro the Hero," and I hadn't even thought about that when I was typing that chapter! (giggle) It made my day!

By the by, I do not own Band-aid brand adhesive bandages. Or Gravitation.

START CHAPTER

"You're Teizo Montosuwa's daughter, huh?"

Hiroshi felt her nod into his shoulder.

Alira was seated behind Hiroshi on his motorcycle with her arms looped around his waist so she wouldn't fall off. He hadn't thought to bring his other helmet with, so he was driving very carefully.

Her face was pressed into his hair, and her eyes were closed. "I ran away from home. I'm sorry. I should've told you before."

He shrugged, taking a left turn slower than he normally would have through downtown. "It doesn't matter. I'm sure you had your reasons."

She was silent as he stopped at a red light and put one foot down so the motorcycle didn't tip over.

Keeping his eyes on the light, Hiroshi asked quietly, "Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine. No biggie." She leaned back a little and smiled. "I was just a bit tired before from running, but I'm okay now."

Hiroshi drove off as the light changed, his comment almost being lost in the sound of the engine, "You're a bad liar."

She didn't answer.

Hiroshi swerved slightly to avoid hitting a pothole, and Alira squeezed him tighter around the waist.

"Everything okay back there?"

"Umm...Yeah. This is only the second time I've been on a motorcycle, so I'm not quite used to it yet."

A soft ringing noise from the folds of Hiroshi's jacket distracted him for a second, but he kept his eyes on the road. "Could you get that? It's the phone in my left jacket pocket."

Obeying, Alira carefully extracted the phone from his pocket and answered it. "Hello?"

"Alira? What the hell? Where are you? What's going on?"

"Too many questions, Shuichi," she replied simply. "Didn't you call to talk to Hiroshi?"

"Well...yeah, I did. But you're the one who answered, so I figured Hiro was busy," Shuichi replied reasonably.

"He's driving."

At that point, Shuichi had to smile from the other end. "Really?"

Alira leaned up against Hiroshi as he sped up to pass a stalled car and tightened the grip she still had with her one free arm. "Yeah, and I only have one arm to hang on with. If you have a point, make it quick, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Hurry back. Yuki says you have to do...something."

"_I said to clean up the fucking kitchen_!" she heard Yuki shout in the background.

Remembering the failed muffins she left on the oven, Alira winced. "Oh. That."

"Okay...well, I have to go...see you when you get back, okay?"

"Yup."

It only took a few minutes for Hiroshi to get to Yuki's house after Alira regained the usage of both arms and could hold on properly. The first thing she went to do was clean up the muffin mess in the kitchen, but Shuichi grabbed her arm when she went past him.

"Your neck has a bruise on it."

Alira tugged away and hurried into the kitchen. "I know."

"From what?" He followed her into the kitchen and observed as she scraped the burnt muffins out of the pan and filled the sink with soapy water.

She rolled her sleeves up and tied her hair back with an elastic band from her pocket. "I don't see why it's important," she replied, scrubbing the pan with a sponge.

A chunk of scorched muffin relentlessly sticking to the pan caused her to grab a knife to chip it off.

From his study, Yuki heard Shuichi say sharply, "You're gonna cut yourself!"

"I am not," she replied calmly. A second later, "Ow!"

"I warned you!"

Yuki sighed as he heard two sets of footsteps coming towards his study. One was hurried, the other was slower and it sounded like the person was being dragged around, not out of their own free will.

"Shuichi, what are you doing?"

Shuichi pushed Alira into Yuki's study, clinging to her arm. He shoved her hand towards Yuki's face where a gash was letting blood slide down her palm.

"I just need a band-aid," she tried to reason. "It's not a big deal."

Yuki stood up and walked over to them. Shuichi dropped her hand and stammered, "Y-Yuki, help her like you helped me when I cut my hand. Well...maybe not like that but she's bleeding and you need to help her and-"

Yuki cut him off by pressing his slightly parted lips firmly to his teenage lover's. Shuichi's eyes slowly closed, and he flitted his tongue into the older man's mouth. Yuki's hands caressed Shuichi's back. It was truly a tender moment.

Alira attempted to sneak out of the room to fetch herself a band-aid for the cut across her palm, but Yuki's eyes were open a crack and he caught her wrist while he and Shuichi embraced. He had already proven once before that he was stronger than her, so she didn't bother to fight back.

When the kiss ended, Yuki hauled Alira to the bathroom and had her sit on the countertop while he searched for bandages. The cut was too large for a normal band-aid, so he would have to get creative and find something else.

"It's just a cut, Yuki," Alira said hesitantly, watching him try to unwrap a fresh roll of bandages. It was in her nature to despise doctors, so even if she had a broken bone, she would insist that it was nothing major.

"And it's deep," he countered, his eyes focused on the plastic package that wouldn't open without a good long fight. "If it got infected, you'd die."

Alira rolled her eyes. "I doubt that would happen."

Yuki didn't answer, but instead caught her wrist abruptly and pushed her hand under warm water from the faucet. She winced as water flowed into the cut and tried to use her other hand to push his off and get free. Soon getting sick of this, Yuki grabbed her other wrist too.

_I'm scared_.

Alira yelped and jerked away like she had been burned, falling off the countertop and huddling next to the bathtub.

"What the hell?" Yuki looked uncharacteristically perplexed.

"I'm sorry...I don't know what came over me. I just-"

"Shut up and get up," he interrupted, waving a hand at her. "If you're bothered by it, I won't touch your wrists."

Abashed, Alira stood up and stayed still while Yuki washed out the cut.

"There's a bruise around your wrists," Yuki commented a few seconds later, laying the bandages down on the countertop. "Did someone mug you?"

"N-no."

"Then what happened?"

"I've been wondering that myself."

Alira hadn't been aware that Hiroshi was still there until she saw him leaning in the doorway. Rubbing her right wrist, Alira was silent.

Yuki reached for her hand and pulled it from her grasp so he could bandage the cut. As he wrapped the cloth around her hand, he saw her knuckles were bruised too.

Seeing them at the same time as Yuki, Alira was overcome by a feeling of anxiety. _I must have hit my hand on the door_.

Yuki decided not to comment, and when he had finished wrapping up her hand, simply left her to stand there.

"You never told me what happened."

Alira looked up at Hiroshi for a moment, then let her eyes shift back to her palm. She closed her fist softly, squeezing the bandage. "I know."

Hiroshi approached her, but didn't reach out for her. He had already made the decision to wait to see if she needed comforting before he did anything else.

"Are you going to tell me?"

Alira sighed softly and fidgeted with the bandage. "Well...yes, I suppose."

He waited.

"Some guy on the street attacked me, that's all. I got away, so it doesn't matter."

It was then the he reached forward to brush her hair to the side so it showed the bruise on her neck. She reached up to brush his hand away, and he enclosed her hand in his own. She pulled back so her hair fell from his hand and didn't look at him.

"And you're fine?"

"I got out of the car before..."

She trailed off, but he seemed to understand what she meant. He stepped forward and gently slid his arms around her. Grateful for his caring nature, she allowed herself to sink into his embrace.

"Thanks," she whispered.

He smiled in reply, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Nothing to it."

Alira tilted her head up towards Hiroshi and found that her heart hard started beating faster. _Is this real? _she found herself wondering.

As if time had slowed its passage, they leaned closer together, their lips daringly close. A loud pounding on the front door caused the two to jump apart before a kiss could occur.

Alira went to see who was at the door with Hiroshi trailing behind her, but Yuki beat her to it and tugged it open. A young man stood before him.

"What do you want?"

"My sister, you son of a bitch."

END CHAPTER

I was watching Tarzan while typing this. Such a cute movie!

"I wanna know, can you show me, I wanna know about the strangers like me. Tell me more, please show me, something familiar about these strangers like me."

Hey, PenPusherM, can I use Tairu in the next chapter?

Authoress shifting out of your line of vision.


	9. Missing Again

Authoress here.

Today's disclaimer is a special one! I actually don't own Tairu Montosuwa. He belongs to PenPusherM...under a different but incredibly close last name, I think.

So...yeah. Read away!

START CHAPTER

"I want my sister, you son of a bitch."

Standing in the doorway was a tall and handsome brunette. His emerald green eyes were narrowed, and his hands clenched into fists.

"Tairu!"

Heads turned to Alira as she rushed forward and hugged the teen around the middle. He smiled down at her, being a few inches taller, before turning accusing eyes to the men gathered in the doorway.

"Who the hell are you?" Yuki asked after a brief moment of silence.

"Tairu Montosuwa, Alira's older brother."

Alira poked him playfully in the side. "Older by about three hours. He's my twin."

Tairu looked at Shuichi and Yuki a moment, totally ignoring Hiroshi. "Why the hell are you living with two gay men, out of all the other people in this city?"

Alira dodged his question as only a sister could. "How'd you find me?"

"Simple."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I figured when I saw those two kissing on the cover of a magazine that you'd be staying with them. You were always telling me how hot you thought gay guys were."

Shuichi and Yuki exchanged looks with raised eyebrows.

Alira flushed and elbowed him. "What brings you to this humble abode?"

"Stop talking like you haven't skipped any school," he snapped. "I'm here to tell you that I moved out, so now we can live away from Dad. I also wanted to say that I was sorry I couldn't protect you from him."

Hiroshi stepped forward. "Maybe we should go inside instead of talking on the doormat."

Tairu appraised him for a moment before nodding, and, holding Alira's arm protectively, followed Yuki to his living room. When they reached Yuki's couch, Tairu had her sit next to him.

Hiroshi claimed the empty seat beside her. Tairu watched him carefully.

"You moved out?"

Tairu nodded. "Yeah. Dad was pissed, but I'm old enough now to manage on my own. Hey...since when did you dye your hair back?"

She raised a hand to her hair and smiled. "A few days ago. It turned purple at first."

Hiroshi smiled. "I drove her to get it fixed. She was almost too embarrassed to go outside."

Alira and Hiroshi laughed together, exchanging smiles.

"And who the hell are you?" Tairu asked sharply. Hiroshi and Alira both fell silent.

"I'm Hiroshi Nakano. I'm the bass player for Bad Luck," Hiroshi said finally, smiling and reaching out a hand.

Tairu shook his hand, but his eyes remained suspicious. "So Alira...do you have a job?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Well, not exactly..."

"You've been mooching off these two?"

"No," Yuki interjected. "Just me. This _is _my house, after all."

Tairu crossed his arms across his chest. "Then I'll pay you back all the costs of food and such for Alira's staying with you."

Alira's faced him hurriedly. "No!"

Tairu looked temporarily startled. "What?"

She lost her sudden jolt of self-confidence and stared at her hands, folded in her lap. "I'll pay them back," she said quietly. "And I can give Hiro the gas money for taking me to the store." She picked at her fingernails instead of looking at anyone.

_Did she just call him...by a nickname_? Tairu wondered.

Aware that Tairu's eyes had turned towards him, Hiroshi boldly reached forward and placed his hand over Alira's, stilling her nervous habit. She was startled at first, but gradually slipped her hand into his.

Tairu's eyebrows shot up, but his voice remained steady. "The police are still after you, so we'll have to clear that up."

She nodded. Her brother's presence seemed to have caused her to face reality: it couldn't always be like this. Sooner or later, she would have to leave the men behind that she had grown fond of. Shuichi and Yuki were in the middle of a blossoming relationship. When she showed up, the blossom started to wilt. They were spending more time making sure she was okay than they were on helping the relationship grow.

Alira forced her mouth into a smile. "Thanks for everything, guys, but I guess it's time for me to move out. I'm not going to lie to you, though. I'm really going to miss seeing you every day."

Shuichi's eyes started to tear up, as they did at every emotional moment. Yuki frowned a little, but otherwise showed no signs of distress. Alira didn't mind. She had come to realize that Yuki was not very outright with his emotions.

"We're gonna miss you too, Alira," Shuichi said quietly, blinking back tears.

Tairu stood up, his hand on her arm pulling her up with him. "Get your stuff, Alira. It's time to finally go home."

Alira's hand was still clasped in Hiroshi's when she started to walk forward. She hesitated a moment, then let go and left the room. Tairu sat down again, feeling rather awkward.

"So...um..." he stammered, completely devoid of any possible conversation topics. He laughed nervously. "I don't really know what to say."

"Then shut up," Yuki replied coolly. "You should feel uncomfortable, since you barged into my house so rudely to begin with."

Tairu wasn't used to people making him feel so uncomfortable. "Well...I...sorry?"

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Nice. You call yourself and older brother and you can't even form a coherent sentence?"

Tairu's eyes narrowed. "I didn't come here to be insulted by a queer."

"What did you expect, then?" Yuki asked, his piercing eyes meeting Tairu's. "You haven't been kind to her since you showed up. Give me your address," he said after a pause. "I'll drive her over there once she's packed."

Feeling guilty, Tairu agreed. He left the three men sitting in the living room with a small, hastily scribbled map and some directions to Tairu's house. It was on the other side of town.

Hiroshi stood up suddenly. "I'm going to go talk to Alira."

Without waiting for anyone to try and respond, he headed up the stairs to her bedroom, shutting the door softly behind him. She was bent over a dresser drawer with her back to him. Her head was down on a pile of shirts and she had her arms crossed underneath her head. Her shoulders shook with muffled sobs.

As happy as she was to go live with her brother, she feared that she would never get to see Shuichi, Yuki, or Hiroshi again. She would go back to school, and life would be normal. But what was normal? She was too used to seeing them every day. Leaving them forever hurt too much to think about, but she had made that mistake.

Hiroshi walked silently across the room and knelt beside her, placing his hand lightly on the small of her back. She looked up at him, startled, tears that had not yet fallen making her eyes sparkle. She hadn't meant for anyone to see her like this.

"H-Hiro..." she stammered, raising a hand to wipe a tear from her cheek.

Hiroshi reached forward without replying and pulled her towards him in a tender embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder, glad she wasn't wearing any eyeliner. Hiroshi used one hand to stroke her hair as she leaned into him.

"If you need to cry, then cry," he whispered into her ear.

She shook her head. "I…I'm done."

He loosened his grip around her in case she wanted to stand up, being very careful not to frighten her. She had told him that she had been attacked the day he drove her back to Yuki's house, so he knew something bad had happened. The only thing he could think of to define 'attacked' was not pleasant: a man had tried to rape her, but she had somehow managed to escape. Her bruised wrists, neck, and knuckles were proof of that.

"Please don't tell Yuki or Shuichi about this. I don't want them to feel bad," she murmured, her breath tickling his neck and interrupting his thoughts.

She pulled away when he didn't answer. "Please, Hiroshi. Don't tell them."

He hesitated before nodding. "Okay. I promise."

She shut her eyes for a moment. "I have to keep packing."

"Right."

Alira started to stand up, but Hiroshi caught onto her shoulders. "Wait. There's one condition to that promise."

"And what would that be?"

Hiroshi's eyes met hers, and without a trace of embarrassment, he replied, "I want you to kiss me. Just once is enough. I need to know something."

Alira knew that he had left it open to her to choose: lips or cheek, tongue or no tongue, tender or forced.

Hiroshi waited. Finally, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. When the first kiss ended, she paused a few seconds before administering another. Hiroshi kissed her back, gently at first, then hungrily.

When they broke apart, Alira seemed embarrassed by her own need for comfort.

Hiroshi smiled. "I guess I know the answer, then." He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

When she looked at it, she saw it was a phone number. _His phone number_.

"Give me a call if you need someone to talk to, okay?"

She nodded as he headed out of the room, clutching the paper to her heart.

Five minutes later, she was sitting in Yuki's car on the way to her brother's house. Shuichi had given her a hug goodbye, not bothering to hide his tears, and couldn't bring himself to come with.

Yuki didn't say anything until they were in Tairu's driveway. It was when she was opening the door that he grabbed her upper arm. He pulled her towards him, so her back was pressed against his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"I'm not used to this kind of thing...but I'm going to miss having two idiots in my house instead of just one."

Alira smiled. "I'm going to miss you too, Yuki." She turned around to face him, feeling emboldened, and pressed her lips to his. "Give that to Shuichi when you get home, would ya?"

He smiled, seeming totally unperturbed. "I will."

Grabbing her bags, Alira headed towards the front door where Tairu already stood waiting.

She greeted him with a hug, but somehow, it just wasn't the same. She was pleased to be with her brother again, but the feelings of happiness were blocked out by the pain.

Her world had crashed down around her once before, and it took two gay men and a sweet guitarist to show pull her back on her feet. Now who was there for her to rely on to grab her hand and tug her back onto the right path?

The pain built up inside Alira until she could no longer take it, and that very night, she was once again called in to the police station as a missing person.

END CHAPTER

(singing)

_Every time I try to make you smile  
You're always feeling sorry for yourself  
Every time I try to make you laugh  
You can't  
You're too tough  
You think you're loveless  
It was too much that I'd asked you for..._

Sorry, AMV's are just really awesome. And that one ended with a really adorable smile from Yuki! (giggles) So cute! Ahh...I'm insane.

Authoress out.


	10. Repeating the Past

Authoress at this place at this point in time.

I've been distracted lately. Very distracted. Well...that, and my parents are asking what I'm typing, considering the end of the quarter was today and all my classes ended. They know it's not homework.

Ahh. If only my mother knew I was writing a story to post on the internet about gay men, rated R for mature themes. Speaking of which, I was intending to write a lemon...but a friend of mine got a story deleted because of that. And it was really good, too! Damn to the depths whatever muttonhead reported her! I really don't want to lose this fic, but I've never written a lemon before...what should I do?

Haru: Get on with it!

By the way, I don't own Gravitation, Monty Python, or Pirates of the Caribbean. Sadly. (sniffle)

START CHAPTER

"She's gone."

Hiroshi had sunk into a chair when Shuichi told him the news the next morning. Tairu had called, thinking maybe she had come back to the house where he had found her.

He was now sitting in Yuki's living room beside Hiroshi with his head in his hands. "I shouldn't have made her leave when she was so happy just being here," he muttered. "This is my fault."

"No good will come from blaming yourself, Tairu," Hiroshi reprimanded gently. "It isn't your fault."

Tairu gave him a sour look. "I wish saps like you would learn to keep your mouths shut. Your pointless remarks aren't helping either."

Hiroshi frowned. "I'm just trying to help. There's no need to snap at me."

"I...I'm sorry. It's just been a bit hectic since she ran away. Losing her again is harder than it was the first time...because it's my fault this time." He sighed shakily and put a hand over his forehead. He was too strong to cry, but did not look pleased nonetheless.

Hiroshi placed a hand to his shoulder in a brotherly manner. "Relax. I'll find her, Tairu. There are only so many places a teenager on the run can think of to go."

"I'm coming with you."

Hiroshi smiled hesitantly. "That may not be the best idea right now. I don't think she'd really want to talk right now."

Tairu nodded after a moments pause. "I guess you're right." As Hiroshi stood up, Tairu caught the sleeve of his shirt and halted him. "Alira said that you helped her out before when she got lost, so I feel awful that I'm asking you to do it again. But if you find her and bring her back...I won't mind if you two date."

"What?"

"When she told me about you, I thought that there was a chance...you were using her as a way to get more publicity for Bad Luck. A bass player with a love life sparks articles. More people pay attention to a guy with a girlfriend."

Hiroshi didn't reply, and waited for him to go on.

"If you do this for me," he continued. "I'll know that your feelings for my sister are honest. On top of that...I want her to be happy. I know this is your house, Yuki, but if she's happier here, I won't mind if she stays."

A smile spread across Hiroshi's face. "I'm grateful that you will accept us as a couple if Alira decides she wants it that way. If not, however, I will be content on being her friend."

Tairu dropped his sleeve, embarrassed by his sudden outburst, and watched the redheaded band member put on his jacket and head out the door. The engine to his motorcycle revved a few times as he turned the key, and then he was gone.

Tairu swallowed hard. He hadn't realized that coming to Yuki's house and having Hiroshi search for his sister would leave him alone with two gay men. What was there to talk about? This was bound to be awkward.

-Meanwhile-

Alira frowned as she looked around. It was growing darker, so it was harder to focus on people specifically. Alira was content with that so long as none of them headed towards her. It is easy to get paranoid when you are the only one walking towards a building amidst a crowd of people leaving.

Letting her feet guide her, Alira found herself standing in the lobby of Montosuwa Electronics. Her heart thumped. Her father could be in this building. Probably watching porno on his computer if he is here, she added to her thoughts bitterly.

The secretary had been watching her carefully, but didn't seem to recognize her. Alira decided she had to know if her father was really in the building, and approached her.

"Well, hello, miss. How can I help you?"

Alira glanced around a few times. She had just remembered that Hikaru Aki, the young chief of police, was probably still looking for her.

"Are you looking for someone?" the secretary asked, a smile plastered to her face.

Nodding, Alira responded, "Can you tell me if Teizo Montosuwa is here?"

"Mr. Montosuwa prefers that information in regards to his location not be distributed to the general public," the woman replied in a voice that made it sound like she had repeated it over and over again.

Chuckling lightly, Alira decided it was time to see if her name could get her anywhere. "You clearly don't know who I am."

The secretary's smile had become rather forced by now. "And just who are you, then?"

"Alira Montosuwa," she replied coldly. "His daughter."

"Oh!" The secretary was decidedly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't even recognize you! No, Mr. Montosuwa went home early today. He was feeling ill."

"That's too bad."

"I hope he's feeling better by tomorrow," the secretary continued, placing a manicured finger to her lower lip.

Alira stared at her for a moment. "I don't," she replied finally, enjoying the look on the other woman's face. At that, she turned on her heel and left.

Angered and obviously thinking that she had been fooled by an imposter, the secretary shouted, "Security!"

Alira paused. "Shit," she muttered right before a fist slammed into the middle of her back.

Without thinking, Alira slammed her elbow back into the security guard's stomach, making him double over and gasp. Looking around, she could see three others approaching. One of them had a gun.

Deciding she should worry about the armed one first, Alira waited until he had come within range.

"Calm down, lady, and nobody gets hurt," he said calmly. When she lowered her fists, he lowered the gun slowly.

Taking a chance, Alira turned and ran out the door. She kept running until she could no longer hear pursuing footsteps behind her, then leaned against a wall to catch her breath.

A taxi rolling by slowed down in front of her, and a man in the backseat rolled down the window to look at her. Alira watched him apprehensively until he rolled the window up again and signaled to the driver to keep going.

Using that event to back up her decision to move somewhere else, Alira started walking down the broken sidewalks of Tokyo. She sighed as she entered a dimly lit part of town. Leave it to her to get lost again. This time, however, she was prepared. If anyone grabbed her, she would fight back this time.

_I don't need anyone to protect me. _

Alira stopped dead on the sidewalk when she saw a parking lot. There was a car parked there. She recognized it.

_I'm scared._

"_No one can hear you except me."_

Alira's fists clenched, and she walked towards the car. A few feet away, she heard a muffled scream. Goosebumps formed on her arms. He had someone else.

Dashing to the car, she tugged at the door. It was locked. Looking in, she saw the man who had almost raped her on top of a younger girl. His back was to her, but she could still tell who he was. Tears streamed down the girl's face.

Pure rage flowed through Alira's body, enough to make her shake with fury. Without thinking, she punched through the window, ripping up the flesh on her right hand and raining glass down on the man. He let out a cry, and got out of the car as fast as he could. The girl crawled out too, tears distorting her vision, and huddled behind some trashcans.

Alira bit her lower lip as she looked at her hand. It would scar.

"You," breathed the man, fury contorting his face.

"Me," she replied, looking at him in disgust. "You're a bastard. How old was she? Twelve? Eleven?"

He didn't answer her question. "You're dead, girl. You shouldn't have come back here."

"Lucky thing about that. I got lost again and wound up here."

The man pulled his knife from his belt. Alira recognized it from before. "That again? You had it last time, too."

"You're not going to get away this time," he snarled, tightening his grip on the knife.

"I don't need to this time. I'm going to make sure you never hurt anyone ever again." Alira raised her fists. "And I don't care if I get hurt in the process. No one deserves to get raped."

He stepped closer. "Once I kill you, I'll fuck the wound," he hissed.

Quite suddenly, a gunshot sounded through the night air and the man fell to the ground heavily, blood seeping from his chest. The knife was still clutched tightly in his hand. It was then that Alira realized that someone must had phoned the police, and they had shot him when they saw the knife.

A group of police officers ran forward, guns drawn and pointed at the man on the ground. In the chaos and screams from civilians that followed, Alira slipped away through the shadows.

_I never got the chance to learn who the girl was, _Alira realized at she hobbled down the street, holding her bleeding hand tightly in the uninjured one.

_It's not really that important. She's safe now, and that's all that matters to me._

A noise that Alira easily recognized soon filled her ears. A motorcycle was approaching her. The tires screeched as the driver stopped suddenly. She heard the sound of the bike tipping over followed by feet slapping against the pavement.

Her vision slid in and out of focus as she turned around. Hiroshi was running towards her. Her eyes fluttered, and she slumped forward.

That was when Hiroshi knew something was wrong.

There was blood flowing freely from her hand. Acting quickly, Hiroshi held her in one arm while he ripped off the sleeve to his t-shirt. After wrapping it around her hand tightly, he placed his hand to her forehead. She was getting a fever from blood loss and exhaustion.

The hospital was several miles away, but Hiroshi didn't care. Grabbing onto her, he climbed back onto his motorcycle and drove off at a reckless speed towards the hospital.

_I won't let her die, _Hiroshi thought firmly as he sped down an empty street.

END CHAPTER

Ahhh...my finger hurts because I hit a chair earlier, but other than that I'm very happy. I love writing stories!

(stretches) Review my fic!

Authoress leaving the room and building.


	11. Three Little Words

Authoress here.

My knee...and forehead...both hurt. I tripped in the dark and hit my head on a closet door. My sister woke up (I share a room), yelled at me to shut up, then fell asleep again. As for my knee...well, I haven't really figured out what the hell happened there just yet.

START CHAPTER

At Yuki's house, the tension was growing. Yuki had left to work on his book, leaving Tairu alone in the room with Shuichi. Neither seemed to know exactly what they could say, and so silence was the prevailing noise.

Making a feeble attempt, Tairu commented, "This is a very nice house."

Shuichi nodded without realized that Tairu was trying to be friendly, then hurriedly replied, "Yeah. Yuki's a really good decorator."

Silence fell again, broken only by keys clacking steadily as Yuki typed. The words were flowing from his fingers today.

_-and lifted her head so her lips touched his. His tongue was gently probing the inside of her mouth, massaging hers delicately. He did not wish to frighten her away, so he made his hands behave themselves and stay a safe distance from her taunt buttocks..._

He stopped, realizing that the growing silence was making him uncomfortable. He sighed, saved the document, and exited the room. Shuichi and Tairu looked up at him as he entered the room, a hand toying with his rumpled hair, messy from countless times of running impatient fingers through it when he could not think of the words.

"You two are being too quiet. I can't think."

"I'm...sorry?" Tairu offered uncomfortably.

Yuki sighed once before flopping onto the couch, removing his glasses and placing them on the coffee table before him. "Don't stress it."

Tairu too and cast an impatient glance at the clock mounted on the wall on the other side of the room. "Is Hiroshi reliable enough to find her and bring her back?" he asked quietly.

"Probably," Yuki replied unconvincingly.

-Meanwhile-

"_She's lost a lot of blood." _

"_Where are her parents?"_

"_Who's the kid sitting next to her?"_

Alira could hear voices before she was awake, and the sound of bed sheets rustling was what finally made her cross the line into consciousness. A startled nurse holding a syringe was standing beside her, one hand frozen in place a few inches above her arm.

"Alira Montosuwa?"

"What the fuck is in that needle?"

The nurse frowned, her lips growing thin, and didn't answer. She had clearly been hoping Alira was asleep.

Alira sat up, looking around feverishly. "Where's Hiroshi?" When the nurse didn't answer, Alira snapped, "Tell me where he is, you stupid whore!"

The nurse's hand shook with fury, and she looked ready to slap the teenage patient. A cool voice from the doorway stopped her. "Now, now, Haya. Violence is totally unnecessary. I'll deal with her."

Obediently, Haya turned to head out, capping the syringe and handing it to the older man in the doorway as she passed by.

The man watched Alira closely from a distance until she noticed the IV in her left arm and began pulling of the tape holding it in the crook of her elbow.

"Stop that!"

He went forward and grabbed her right arm, pulling it to a safe distance so she could not tamper with the IV. Angry at his reaction, Alira used her free hand to pinch the fleshy underside of his arm until he released her.

Crossing her arms, Alira asked angrily, "Where is Hiroshi Nakano?"

"That boy with the long red hair?" Alira nodded firmly. "No idea."

"Then I'm leaving."

"Like hell you are!" he thundered. "You're staying right here until your parents arrive!"

Alira gave him the falsely sweet smile she was most accustomed to using on teachers when she was playing innocent. "Pardon me, _doctor, _but I'm eighteen. I'm a legal adult, and I don't need my father here."

"What about your mother?"

Alira's eyes flashed as she used the temporary distraction offered by his remark to pull the IV from her arm. "She's been dead for years."

"Terribly sorry about that."

"Like hell you are."

As Alira climbed out of bed and started to straighten out her clothing, her face paled. She was clad in a thin hospital shift in the classic, sickening green shade. She could tell even without checking that she was not wearing a bra or underwear.

The doctor gave her a small smirk.

"Where are my clothes, you perverted bastard?"

The doctor pushed the door shut in a professional manner, his smile widening. Alira knew as he took a step towards her what his intentions were. She was nervous, and rightfully so. In one hand, he still held the syringe.

He took another step closer to her, and Alira glanced around for a weapon nervously.

_Hiroshi, where are you? _she wondered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Just a routine checkup," the doctor insisted calmly, dropping the syringe into a waste disposal container when he noticed her cautious eyes following it. "I won't hurt you."

"Stay the hell away from me," she whispered, stumbling over her clothes, wadded into a pile, as she took a step backwards.

Walking around the bed, the doctor kept coming towards her until he was only a few feet to her right. Taking a chance, Alira seized her clothes and took off at a run, jumping onto her bed to reach the door. She tugged it open in time to rush out of her room, but a few other doctors monitoring that floor joined in the chase as she fled.

She never learned if his intentions were purely professional, but then again, she didn't feel like stopping to ask.

Out the door of the hospital, Alira ducked into some bushes to hide. From that vantage point, her eyes widened when she saw that Hiroshi's motorcycle was still in the parking lot.

_Did something happen to him? _Alira was nervous now.

Dressing quickly behind the cover of the foliage, Alira tossed aside the green gown and headed towards the hospital. She ran directly into someone heading out, and as she turned to apologize, she was pulled into a tight hug right there, blocking the door.

Recognizing the faint smell of his cologne, Alira's arms wrapped around him tightly. "Hiroshi," she muttered into his shoulder.

He placed his chin on the top of her head, rocking her back and forth in his arms. His eyes were closed. "I'm so glad you're okay. When I went back to your room, it was empty. The nurses said that you'd run out, and I was concerned."

"Where were you?"

"I had to sign some forms of consent, saying that I brought you in. They nurse who gave them to me left, so I had to bring them to the desk myself."

Alira heaved a sigh of relief, just glad to have his arms around her, holding her tightly. It was then that she, without thinking, said something that she never predicted that she could ever say to another person.

"I love you."

END CHAPTER

Gaaah! Writer's block!

Authoress out.


	12. Flower Girl

Authoress here.

How long can a story run before it gets old? Hopefully I still have a few chapters left before it gets annoyingly long. I really like this story!

(sings) I need a _Hiro, _holding out for a _Hiro _till the end of the night... Sorry.

START CHAPTER

"I love you," Alira had whispered.

"Me too," Hiroshi replied quietly.

They stood there in front of the hospital, enveloped in each other's arms, not seeming to care what was happening in front of them. Before Alira could react, camera flashes began going off all around her, blinding her.

"Shit," Hiroshi muttered, tightening his grip around her and blinking to rid himself of the flashbulb floaters obscuring his vision.

"Paparazzi?" Alira guessed, looking up to meet his eyes.

He nodded, glancing carefully over the cameras to avoid the flashes. His gaze roved for a moment. "They're Americans."

"Really?"

Hiroshi nodded, listening to them jabber and spout questions he could not understand. "They're speaking English, and they're blonde with blue eyes."

"How long have you two been dating?" one of them shouted.

"Is it true that Alira is the newest member of Bad Luck?" cried another.

"Alira, are you still wanted by the police?"

"Shit," Alira muttered, frowning at the ground.

"You can understand them?"

She nodded. "I'm half American. I made it my business to learn the language."

"That's the least of our worries. They're blocking the way to my motorcycle."

Alira let her eyes drift over the crowd until she saw something distinctly familiar. "Oh shit," she whispered.

Hikaru Aki was heading towards her through the crowd, his face set, one of his hands on handle of his gun. He knew she would run unless he did something drastic.

Hiroshi noticed Alira tense up. "What's wrong?"

Alira's breath came in short gasps. She hadn't done anything wrong when she ran away from home, but the police force was in her father's pocket. She would get arrested if Hikaru caught up to her, and she knew it. "We have to get out of here." She met Hiroshi's eyes. "I'm still wanted by the police."

"Fuck."

Hiroshi wrapped an arm around her, and pushed his way through the crowd, barely ahead of Hikaru when they reached his motorcycle.

"Stop right there." Hikaru had drawn his gun from the holster. "Alira Montosuwa, you are under arrest. You are charged with theft, aggravated assault, attacking a member of the medical staff, and fleeing justice."

Hiroshi pulled her tighter. "Would you really shoot her in front of all these people if she tried to get away?"

"If it came down to that, I might," he replied coolly.

Alira was confused. "Theft? What did I steal?"

"A katana and a butcher knife from your father's home."

Alira's eyes narrowed. "We don't own a katana."

Hikaru replied evenly, "But you do own a knife."

"I didn't take it," she answered. She shifted a little, and remembered that there were bandages on her right hand from punching through the window. Great. Now the hospital staff would be after her too.

"Aggravated assault."

"My father's staff. They attacked me."

Hikaru was growing more and more impatient. "Attacking a member of the medical staff."

"Verbally."

"Pardon?"

Alira smiled. "I swore at her, and called her a whore."

"Fleeing justice."

"I'm not guilty of anything you said previously, so why would it be fleeing justice for me to run? I'm innocent."

"Your father wants you to come home. This has gone far enough, Miss. Montosuwa," Hikaru reminded her calmly.

Alira was angry now, angrier than she had been in the past couple days. "He wants me home?" she asked quietly. "_He wants me home_? I'm eighteen. I won't go home." Her eyes filled with tears. "He...he killed my mother," she gasped.

_Her breath was coming in shallow gasps. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were slowly closing. Alira was at her side, cradling her in her arms and repeating her name over and over again. She was sobbing, old enough to know her mother was dying._

Tears flowed down Alira's cheeks to match those in her memory. "He drove us home when he was drunk. My brother was at some kind of Boy Scout camp, so he wasn't there when..._he_ crashed into another car. The other driver was fine, and so was he. Mom..." she trailed off, vaguely noticing that Hiroshi had tightened his grip around her and added his other arm to the embrace.

She had never told anyone about that night. In passing, she had shouted accusations at her father, but no one knew that she remembered exactly what had happened. The other driver had been blamed. Driving under the influence, the documents said. Her father was the one at fault, and he had escaped with bumps and bruises. The other driver was in his twenties, and sent to prison for thirty years.

It had been fourteen years by this time. For fourteen years, her father had functioned as though nothing had happened. He _had _been having an affair with Tachikara Kazumi, his secretary, and Alira knew that. Even without proof, she knew.

"Teizo Montosuwa is guilty of child abuse!" she finally cried. The paparazzi mumbled amongst themselves until one that spoke Japanese and English translated what she had shouted.

Hikaru, startled, lowered his gun an inch or so. "What?" he whispered, his eyes wide.

Alira nodded tearfully. "He never hit my brother...just me."

Yuki and Shuichi had been watching the news with Tairu, and Yuki had sped the three of them to the front of the hospital. He was stepping out of the car when he heard her cry out, admitting the most painful memories of her life.

"She's telling the truth." Head turned to Eiri Yuki, the charming novelist. "She ran away from home, and I took her in. She had a black eye from her father punching her. She tried to cover it up with makeup, but I noticed."

"Lies," snapped a woman of medium height from the front of the crowd. Her hair was glossy and black, twisted up into a bun with one wavy piece falling in front of her eyes. Two ivory chopsticks were pushed through he bun.

Alira felt a jolt pass through her body.

"Lies," she repeated, stepping forward. "Her father never hit her."

Hiroshi felt Alira tense up, and knew enough to hold onto her tightly. He was worried that she would jump at the older woman. Moments later, she spat, "Tachikara Kazumi!"

The woman brushed the piece of hair behind her ear calmly. "Alira Montosuwa. Good. Now we know each other's names. Teizo never laid a hand on you, you rotten little liar."

"You wouldn't know, you bitch!"

Tachikara chuckled. "I'd prefer it if you called me 'Mom' instead." Alira was speechless as Tachikara held out a delicate hand to show her a golden band looped around her ring finger. "Your father and I are engaged. We're getting married later today." She pulled her hand back and pressed her index finger to her lips. "Oopsies, I suppose we should have mentioned that earlier, huh?"

"You fucking whore," Alira cried, tears of rage falling from her eyes.

Tachikara frowned. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You shouldn't swear at your mommy."

"You are not my mother," Alira replied coldly. "And you never will be. Get out of my life! I don't want you here!"

Hiroshi kept his arms locked around her waist. Alira was sagging against him, helpless to Tachikara's irritating remarks that she knew were touching a nerve.

"By the way, how would you like to be the flower girl?"

END CHAPTER

Tachikara is a bitch, huh?

Authoress out.


	13. House Arrest

Authoress here.

You have no idea how happy I was to know that Miharu (sorry if I killed your name, I typed it from memory...I think there were some symbols in there somewhere...?) has saved chapters from this story onto her computer! I've finally met someone else who does this! It also makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I e-hug you!

I swear I already updated this chapter...Oh well.

START CHAPTER

Alira sat in an armchair in Yuki's house roughly an hour later. The police had her under house arrest, but weren't able to find enough evidence to arrest her. Her allegations that her father had abused her were still being processed, and Teizo Montosuwa's questioning had been completed in ten minutes.

Tachikara Kazumi was to become her stepmother in three hours, and there was nothing that she could do to prevent it. Alira's was in her hands, and her eyes were squeezed closed.

Shuichi and Hiro had left to record a song earlier when K came to get them ("Move it or I'll shoot you!" were his exact words). Tairu had stayed true to his promise and returned home without Alira, also helpless to what was going to happen.

Alira and Yuki were the only two in the house, and he was busily working. Nothing seemed to stress him so much that he couldn't write. Alira wasn't sure exactly what it was that he wrote, but she knew that he was a novelist. She frowned. There was so much that she didn't know.

Standing up, Alira decided to busy herself with cleaning something. The living room was spotless, but the kitchen had a mound of dirty dishes in the sink. Alira let the water run to fill the sink, poured in some soap, and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. Her right hand, after all, was still bandaged. She tried to forget that her father was getting remarried.

From his study, Yuki could hear the clacking of plates and silverware as Alira scrubbed the dishes clean. His fingers halted, suspended over the keys. He frowned at the open door before arising and heading out to the kitchen. Alira had her back to him, her hands occupied. She didn't hear his footsteps approaching her, so when he spoke, she was so startled that she dropped the plate she was rinsing.

"What are you doing?" he asked levelly.

Alira picked up the plate again, and finished rinsing it. "I'm doing the dishes."

"Why?" he said, his cold eyes on hers.

She didn't seem to know how to answer. "I...well, it's just that...I mean..."

He sighed, listening to her stumble over her words. "Just shut up."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize," he snapped, annoyed at her.

She bit her lip, and didn't reply.

Yuki ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Are you..._upset_ about anything?" The words felt strange, and he had to force himself to say them.

Alira didn't answer. She turned back to doing the dishes, plunging her hands into the soapy water. She located a knife with her left hand as she was groping for a dish to wash, and yanked back with a startled cry. "Shit," she whispered, looking at her hand. The knife had put a hole in the glove, and blood dribbled through. Her eyes clouded with tears, blurring her vision. She did not know why.

Yuki had yanked off the glove and pressed his palm over the cut in an instant, and was dragging her to the bathroom before she could protest. "Sit down," he said, pushing towards the closed toilet. She sat down on the lid and he pressed a tissue into her hand. "Hold onto that until I get back," he commanded, exiting the room to find the first aid kit. Ever since he learned that Shuichi was a hazard to himself, he had kept copious amounts of bandages around the house.

Alira stared at her hand, then brushed the tears from her eyes. She had no idea why she had started crying. The cut hurt, yes, but she hadn't cried over an injury since she was seven. That fact that she was crying hit deep down in her heart, and she couldn't explain why.

Yuki reentered the room, and took her hand. Tugging away the blood-soaked tissue, he ran warm water over her hand. Her fingernails were all short, he noticed, and none of them were painted. Her knuckles still had a faint bruise on them. He decided to bring that up now.

"You never told me what happened that night when Hiroshi found you downtown," he said quietly, his eyes on the cut on her hand. It wasn't that bad. She had put a decent slice in two of her fingers, but they would heal without a problem.

Alira shook her right hand until the other rubber glove came off, and set it on the counter. "I didn't tell anyone else, either," she replied, matching his volume.

"Why not?" he pressed, a sickening feeling building up inside him. He was fairly sure by her resistance towards telling him that it had been something serious. "Did someone hurt you?"

She shook her head, biting her lip and shutting her eyes. "I...I got away."

He frowned at her bandaged hand. "How did that happen? The doctor's report said that there was broken glass from an automobile window in your hand."

"I...I...punched through a window."

Yuki halted his motions after sticking a band-aid to one cut finger and stared at her. "What?"

Alira met his eyes, and suddenly the words tumbled out. "He had someone else in there with him...someone younger than me. He would have...but I punched through the window. She got away, and he came after me. The police showed up and shot him, and I got away without them seeing me." She exhaled deeply as his grip on her hand became gentler.

"Why did they shoot him?"

"He had a knife, so they-"

"Idiot!" Yuki snapped, slapping a band-aid on her other finger. "You went after a guy with a knife? You could've been killed, you dumbshit!"

Alira pulled her hand back slowly. "I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to help her," she said, her voice trembling.

"Clearly you weren't thinking," he replied in a more gentle tone, somewhat apologetically. After all, he had just lost his temper with her.

"I'm sorry, Yuki," she replied, staring at her hands. "I've been an idiot. It'd be best for you and Shuichi if I went to live with Tairu."

Yuki rolled his eyes. "And leave me here with Shuichi? He'd cry more than usual if you left. Besides, without your cooking, I'd have to manually test the smoke detectors myself."

Alira couldn't help but smile. She knew her cooking skills needed help. "Thanks," she replied, rolling her eyes. She was growing a little less upset, but something was still missing.

"Hey...Yuki?"

"What do you want?" he asked in his typical manner.

Alira looked uncomfortable. "Can you...drive me to the church where my dad is getting married?" Yuki gave her an odd look. "I...I don't know, I just feel like I need to be there."

Yuki frowned and walked out of the room towards the kitchen. Alira stood up and followed him. She watched disapprovingly as he mixed himself a drink.

"That's a bad habit," she remarked, watching him drop several ice cubes into the glass tumbler.

He took a swig, and rolled his eyes at her. "Fuck you."

She sighed. "Never mind. I'll walk."

Yuki caught her arm as she was walking away, setting the tumbler down on the faultless counter. She turned around to look at him, waiting for an explanation. "I didn't say I wouldn't take you."

She looked at him evenly. "I can smell gin on your breath. You shouldn't be driving." _At least it isn't sake_...

Yuki gave her a look. "I'm not drunk, moron."

"He said he wasn't either," she replied coldly.

"Do you want me to drive you or not?" he asked, looking at her.

It was then that she noticed how tall he was compared to her. She had to look up to meet his eyes, which she wasn't used to. In America, she had been considered fairly tall, but standing next to him, she felt short.

When she didn't answer, he sighed. "It doesn't matter. You're under house arrest anyway."

"They can't tell me I'm not allowed to go to a wedding."

Roughly five minutes later, Yuki was standing in the kitchen chuckling listening to Alira stomp around the living room swearing. "That's not fucking fair! They can't do this! Stupid bastards!"

"Cool it, kiddo," Yuki said, smirking.

"Don't call me _kiddo_," Alira snapped, clomping into the kitchen noisily.

He picked up his drink again, and took a sip. Alira sighed in defeat and sunk to the cool linoleum floor. "Tachikara _Montosuwa_," she said bitterly. "Mommy."

Yuki cast a glance downwards at the top of her head, but didn't say anything.

Alira glanced up at him, tilting her head to the side. "You know, I didn't dye my hair black so I would fit in here."

Yuki was a bit taken aback by the sudden conversation change, but interested nonetheless. He had assumed she was trying to fit in with the other Japanese there. American bloodlines showed in her hair color, and it would have saved her a lot of suspicious glances if her hair were black. "Oh?"

She nodded, lowering her eyes to stare at a cabinet near the floor. "I look like my mom. For the longest time, I couldn't take looking in the mirror and seeing her reflection."

"That's nice to know."

"I can't believe he could do this," she said quietly, thinking again about her father.

Yuki set down the now empty glass next to the sink. "You can't stop it from happening. You might as well accept that you're going to have a stepmother. And stop whining at me."

Alira made a face at a swirl in the wood of the cabinet door.

"Trying to burn a hole in that?" he asked a moment later, noticing her expression.

She stood up and turned to him. "Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed that you aren't even trying to make me feel any better." She paused, and rolled her eyes. "Not like you would've anyway, but-"

"Fine." She stopped mid-sentence. He reached out and pulled her into a hug, wrapping his strong arms around her. "This better."

Alira smiled a bit. "It's creeping me out coming from you, but whatever."

Yuki released her. "I'm going back to work. Don't bug me."

_His eyes burned into her soul as he whispered_-

"What exactly do you write?"

Yuki stopped typing and silently counted to ten. "Novels."

Alira was standing behind him, reading over his shoulder. After about three lines, she drew back, her face pink. "Oh," she said simply.

"Oh," Yuki replied. "Now go away."

Alira opened her mouth hesitantly. "Umm...Yuki?"

"What the hell do you want?"

"I'm going to that wedding."

"Police," he reminded her, not bothering to make eyes contact.

Alira crossed her arms. "I can get past them."

"How?"

"I was waiting for you to ask me that."

**-Meanwhile- **

Teizo Montosuwa stood in front of a full-length mirror admiring and scrutinizing his tuxedo. In an hour, he would have a new bride. Smiling to himself, he remembered the look on his daughter's face when his fiancé mentioned the engagement.

"How do I look?" he said, turning to his best man, Aguri Seiichi.

Aguri smiled. "You look great, Teizo. I can't believe you're getting married again. This is so wonderful. Where are you guys going on your honeymoon?"

Teizo looked at Aguri's reflection in the mirror instead of turning to him. "We're still thinking about it. Tachikara wants to go somewhere exotic."

Aguri nudged him, and raised his eyebrows. "Exotic, huh?"

"Yup. Maybe renting a cabin along a beach somewhere."

"That doesn't sound like you at all," Aguri remarked.

Teizo chuckled, raising a hand to smooth his black hair. "Well, you know. Love does things to you."

In another room, Tachikara stood on a short table while last minute adjustments were made to her gown.

"Well ladies, I snagged him," she said, smirking at her bridesmaids. "He's richer than your last man, Kagura."

Kagura, a pretty young woman with eyes that glittered like gemstones, grinned. "I can believe it. He's the head of a company, huh?"

"Montosuwa electronics," Tachikara supplied.

Another of her bridesmaids looked thoughtful. "Isn't his daughter the one the cops were after a couple days ago?"

Tachikara made a face. "Yes."

Kagura frowned. "She could be a problem."

"How so?"

"I don't really think an eighteen year old kid could be-"

"Shut up, Usagi!" Tachikara snarled. "Why could she be a problem?"

Kagura raised her eyebrows a fraction of an inch. "She could be an heiress," was her reply.

Tachikara laughed. "He hates that brat! She's his only kid anyway, so I'm home free. I'm sure to get all his money, not to mention his company, when he has his little...accident."

She joined in laughing with her bridesmaids.

**-Meanwhile­-**

"No way in hell," Yuki snapped.

"Please!"

"No."

"You wouldn't get arrested!" protested Alira. "Just let me borrow your car!"

Yuki gave her a look. "I said no."

Alira stood in silence, looking at him, for a moment. He resumed typing when he heard her start heading for the exit.

"Hiroshi would've taken me," she grumbled.

Yuki stood up, slamming his hands down on the desk. "I'm not your boyfriend. I don't owe you anything."

Alira stopped walking. "I know that," she replied quietly.

"Why did you say that?" he demanded.

"Never mind." Alira continued walking out of the room, and was only remotely surprised when Yuki followed and seized her arm. She didn't turn around to look at him.

"Why?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I'm a little mentally fucked up right now."

Yuki kept his hold on her arm for a few more seconds before allowing her to walk away. _Women in romance novels are never this complicated, _he thought angrily, moving to take his seat again.

_ as he whispered, "Are you sure that you want to do this?" _

_Aiko's smile was answer enough. He leaned towards her, pressing her down onto the mattress with his body. Her hands explored his strong pectoral muscles as he slipped a hand up her skirt. _

"Oh shit!"

Yuki stopped typing as he heard a soft _thunk_ from the living room.

"...Ow..." Alira muttered. She picked herself up carefully, glancing around to see what she had tripped over. It was a stack of books. Sitting on top was a photo album. She picked it up and flipped through. There weren't many photos, but one caught her attention more than the rest.

Yuki entered the room in time to see the picture she was looking at. It was a photo he had kept for reasons unknown of himself and his brother Tatsuha.

"Put that away," he said quietly. Alira looked up at him, carefully evaluating his expression.

"I didn't know you had a brother," she replied softly, closing the album. Yuki didn't reply. "What's his name?"

"Tatsuha."

"Oh. Do you two...not get along very well?"

Yuki glared at her. "Shut up."

"Sorry." She seemed to be saying that a lot more lately.

She opened her mouth to ask another question when a cheerful shout rang out through the household.

"Yuuuuukiiiii! I'm hooooome!"

END CHAPTER

I had too much fun holding down the keys to write that. Teehee.

Authoress out. (Is "authoress" a word?)


	14. Two Days

Authoress here.

(random unintelligible grunt complete with gestures)

Haru: Mostly we figure that means 'hello'.

I do not own Gravitation, Solitaire, the couch, Pirates of the Caribbean (as much as I may want to), or Avenue Q (if you've heard the songs or seen the play, you'll know what I mean).

START CHAPTER

"Yuuuuukiiiii! I'm hooooome!"

Yuki stopped where he was as the ever-cheerful pink-haired teen bounced into the room. His eyes were aglow as he jumped to hug the older man. "I'm home!" Shuichi cried as he leapt towards his lover. Alira smiled and set the photo album aside.

Standing there, Yuki allowed himself to be hugged. "So I heard."

Giving Yuki one final squeeze before relinquishing his grip, Shuichi looked up to meet his eyes. "Why are there cops all around our house?"

Yuki flinched at the word 'our', but replied calmly, "Alira seems to attract a lot of unwanted attention."

"If you're home already, where's Hiro?" Alira asked, flushing with embarrassment at the mention of her house arrest status.

Shuichi frowned at the floor. "He...went home for the night. Said he wasn't feeling well."

Alira blinked a few times. "Oh."

After a silence that seemed to last an eternity, Alira walked slowly from the room, heading towards the kitchen. She wasn't intending to make dinner, but needed to be alone for a moment. Another reason was that she felt it was her fault that Shuichi and Yuki didn't get along perfectly.

They'd probably be happy if she left them alone for a while.

Yuki watched her exit, then turned his attention to Shuichi. Before he could speak, the younger man was standing on his tiptoes to press their lips firmly together.

If his mouth had not been otherwise occupied, Yuki would have smiled. He had to admit that it was a little strange at first to have a man as the object of his affections, but he had gotten used to it. Even the sex seemed normal now, despite what Shuichi was obviously lacking.

As they drooped to the couch, Shuichi lying on top, Yuki mused, _I wouldn't mind it if he had tits...but you can't have everything. _

Yuki let his hands roam up the back of Shuichi's shirt. Shuichi nuzzled into his neck. "Not here," he muttered, his actions showing that despite his words, he would have enjoyed going a bit further right there and now. "What if Alira comes back?"

"Then she'll have enough to satisfy her sexual fantasies for the rest of her life," Yuki replied.

From in the kitchen, Alira could hear them talking. She heard enough to know what was going on, and found herself wishing she didn't have to walk past them to get to the front door.

She sighed. Sitting down at the kitchen table, Alira shifted a few cards from an old game of solitaire. After only a moment, she knew that she had already lost. Solitaire was strange in that respect.

The doorbell rang moments later. She waited to see if either of them was going to get it. It was obvious that they weren't, so she braced herself and walked through the living room swiftly, her eyes focused straight ahead of her. She tried to ignore the shirtless embrace on the couch.

_Maybe it's Hiro_, she thought, grinning. Once she opened the door, however, that grin faded. "Tachikara. What the hell do you want?"

The older woman was dressed in a crisp suit, her straight pinstriped skirt hugging her thighs. Her blazer was cut a little too low for it to have been worn into a courtroom, and the swell of her breasts was exposed. Alira scowled at the glitter flecks sparkling in her cleavage.

_They're married already. That was fast._

"That's awfully rude. You can at least call me your stepmother."

"Is there a reason for you to be here?" Alira asked sharply.

"Actually, yes. I'm here to tell you that your court hearing is in two days."

"What?" Alira snarled.

Tachikara's carefully painted crimson lips curved into a smile. "You heard me. You have two days to prepare your case."

She heard the squeaking of a pair of feet on the floorboards behind her, but didn't turn. It was Shuichi, she figured. Yuki would let her fight her own verbal battle. He didn't care.

She was wrong.

"Get the fuck off my property," the blonde novelist said icily. One of his hands was on Alira's shoulder. She felt him apply gentle pressure to pull her back into the house. Alira looked to the side, not having realized that she had even stepped outside the door. She obeyed, stepping backwards into the house.

Tachikara took a moment to admire Yuki's strong pectoral and abdominal muscles (he hadn't bothered to put on a shirt) before she smirked. "So, you're the guy she's been living with, hmm? I can't say I blame you, honey. He's cute. I bet he's taught you a lot in the bedroom apartment."

Shuichi padded into view, looking curious. He hadn't heard much of the conversation, but had seen the furious look on Alira's face moments before and couldn't help wondering what had been said to make her so angry.

Tachikara's lips parted in a silent "O" of surprise when she saw the bubblegum pink haired boy. "There are two of these hotties?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "There's no _way_ you're a virgin. You little slut. One isn't enough for you, huh?"

Hearing a grown woman say "hotties" was bad enough, but the next remark sparked her temper. Her voice shook. "Get away from me, you fucking whore."

Tachikara was frowning now. "That's no way to speak to your mother. No wonder Teizo was so unhappy with Kristine. I'll bet you're just like her."

She had been about to say more, but it's fairly difficult to speak when you've just been punched in the face. Tachikara stumbled backwards and fell. She stared up at Alira. "You hit me," she said, startled. A thin line of blood traced a crimson pathway down her chin and dripped onto her blazer.

"You're not my mother, and you never will be," Alira replied, her voice white-hot with fury. "You ever say her name again, and I'll kick your ass."

She scrambled to her feet and staggered down the steps. "This isn't over! I hope you like jail, kiddo, because you're getting tried as an adult!"

Alira watched her go, heaved a sigh, and visibly deflated. She turned and trudged towards the stairs.

"Aren't you even going to thank me?" Yuki snapped.

"Thanks."

"You could at least pretend you mean it," he replied evenly.

Alira stopped walking, but didn't turn to face him. She kept her eyes fixated on the steps before her.

_Kristine._

Alira flinched visibly. The name shot through her body like fire, scorching her. She felt tears spring to her eyes. Her knees buckled, and she slumped forward to her knees. Not again. She wouldn't cry in front of him again. She just couldn't.

But she did. Before she could stop herself, she moaned softly and leaned forward, pressing her hands to her face. The tears came, instantly soaking her hands. She slipped sideways, her arms underneath her and her face on the soft carpet of the stairs.

Shuichi stared for a moment before he moved forward and crouched beside her. He put his arms around Alira gently, and was startled when she collapsed helplessly against his bare chest. Her shoulders shook with dry sobs.

Shuichi looked up at Yuki and mouthed, "What do I do?"

Yuki was silent. Shortly, he went to sit on the stairs and placed a hand on her head gently. The motion was awkward, and it was apparent that he wasn't really quite sure either.

When her sobs subsided, Alira pushed away from Shuichi's chest and inhaled deeply. Her eyes were red and puffy. She dragged a hand across her eyelids and sniffled.

"Sorry," she muttered thickly.

She stood up and passed by Yuki on her way up the stairs. Her calf brushed against his arm and she was surprised to feel a tingle.

_There's a fine, fine line between a lover and a friend._

There was no way she had just thought that. She nearly tripped, she was so shocked. Truly told, she had thought he was absolutely breathtaking when she had first met him. Did she still? That was impossible. Her heart belonged to Hiroshi Nakano, not Yuki. It was just that he was so handsome that it was hard not to be captivated by his charms.

_Charms? _She laughed quietly. _Yeah, right. _

When she had reached the top of the stairs, she realized that she didn't want to go to her room again. She turned around and tromped back down, passing by a rather confused-looking Yuki and Shuichi.

"Pick somewhere to go and stay there," Yuki suggested, standing up. He followed her into the living room, where she had sunk onto the couch.

Yuki tugged his shirt (and Shuichi's, for that matter) out from underneath Alira's legs, tossed them to the floor and unfolded his long frame on the couch beside her. Shuichi bounded over and cuddled against him on the other side.

Yuki picked up the remote, and turned on the television.

It wasn't until her head drooped on his shoulder that Yuki realized that she had dozed off. He glanced at Shuichi. He looked ready to fall asleep too.

_So I'm a human pillow. Whatever. _

END CHAPTER

So...I need a nap. _Badly_. I just spent twenty minutes hanging out with my friend's boyfriend, and found out that he was ticklish. You hear that, PenPusherM? Ticklish! Near his hips! Try it!

Authoress running away before he stomps in here and kills me for saying that.


	15. Mixed Emotions

Authoress here.

I'm pondering now how this story will end. I'm wondering if I should write a lemon... (pales, realizing that there is no choice now that it's already been typed) Oh, shit. Now I have to write one, don't I?

I've never written a lemon before! That means I have an excuse to be dirty and read some others to get ideas... (runs off to read Three Way Tie lemon, by PenPusherM) It seems like I advertise her a lot... is that weird? Oh well. She's talented, so it's not like it's a bad thing.

START CHAPTER

It took only a short while before Yuki tired of his "human pillow" status. Shuichi and Alira were both asleep, and only she was unaware that she was snuggled against him. Yuki frowned at Alira's sleeping face before gently shoving her head onto the back of the couch and standing up. He cast a glace behind him at where Shuichi had slumped over, his head now on a soft cushion.

He rolled his eyes. Getting mixed up in a love affair with a brat who enjoyed cuddling was a bad idea. Why had it happened, then? He grinned to himself, finding that even in his novelist's mind, he couldn't think of a better word than "insanity" to describe the nature of his actions. _Love, insanity...what's the difference? _he wondered, muffling a yawn.

He walked into his office to where his laptop sat. He had been suffering from writer's block lately, which was unusual. His cursor blinked on the annoyingly blank page. It was a sex scene, which normally came easily to him. Not this one, however.

He knew why, too. The female lead was too much like Alira. She was a woman with ice water in her veins in the beginning, which the love of the main male melted her cold exterior and enabled her to trust again. He was stuck.

_ as he whispered, "Are you sure that you want to do this?" _

_Aiko's smile was answer enough. He leaned towards her, pressing her down onto the mattress with his body. Her hands explored his strong pectoral muscles as he slipped a hand up her skirt. _

That was as far as he had gotten. Half of his mind wanted to delete the entire story, and the other half wanted him to wait it out until he had ideas. But Aiko was too much like Alira, so it felt strange to write a sex scene. And naturally, the lead male reminded him of himself.

It was just plain uncomfortable to write about himself and Alira having sex; even if it wasn't really them, the characters made it seem like it. The characters in his books all had faces and identities of people who didn't really exist except this one. Why had it happened this time?

Having a woman in the house had changed quite a few things. Shuichi had taken to picking up his clothes and putting his dishes into the dishwasher, and despite himself, Yuki's ashtray proved that he hadn't been smoking as much lately. Maybe that's what he needed.

He tugged open a desk drawer and rifled around, nosily jostling pens and a stapler, until he found a pack of cigarettes. Lighting one, he inhaled deeply and sent a puff of wispy smoke into the air. He shut his eyes momentarily.

A squeak from the couch and the patter of stocking feet on the wood floors told him someone was coming towards him. He knew it was Shuichi even before the teen stepped through the door. Yuki didn't give him a chance to speak. Instead, he pressed the teen against the wall with his stronger arms and forcefully kissed him. Shuichi let his eyes close, relishing in his lover's strong grasp and pure passion.

Over the noises that the two were making, Yuki heard a second set of footsteps. He heard the curtains rustle, and knew Alira was looking to see if the police were outside. He knew what she would see.

Two or three police cars, depending on the amount needed for other affairs, were sitting in the driveway, blocking the garage. He heard Alira sigh sadly, and let the curtains swing back into place. He shut his eyes, trying hard not to listen.

Shuichi rubbed his hands on Yuki's still-bare chest. "What're you thinking about?"

Yuki looked down to see Shuichi's eager face, radiating innocence, staring up at him. "Nothing."

"C'mon," Shuichi purred, snuggling against Yuki and tilting his head up. "You've gotta be thinking about something!"

"I'm not." It was a half-lie. Yuki suddenly sidled away from Shuichi and peered out the doorway. Alira was not looking towards him. She had sunk onto the couch, her eyes open and staring blankly at the wall. He knew what she was thinking about. The trial, now that he could see the clock, was tomorrow, and Alira didn't have a lawyer or a case.

She headed upstairs after a few silent minutes.

"Anything wrong?" Shuichi had noticed that Yuki was no longer paying attention to his advances and was looking at the stairs.

"The trial is tomorrow."

"Oh yeah. But she'll win, right?"

Yuki shrugged. "Probably."

He didn't say aloud what he thought next. _Except that Tachi-whatever has money, a good lawyer, and the testimony of a millionaire. And if Alira loses, she has to pay the court costs. _

He glanced back at the eager face topped by a mop of bubblegum hair, curious violet eyes meeting his. "Go to bed. I have work to do."

Shuichi made a face. "You always have work to do! Is it more important than spending time with _me_?"

Yuki cast him a glance that clearly asked if his lover really wanted to know the answer to that question. Shuichi pouted in reply and headed upstairs to wait and see if Yuki would come up to bed anyway.

Even after turning on the hallway light, he could see light streaming from underneath Alira's bedroom door, and hesitated at the top of the stairs. Did she want to be alone?

He could hear her voice faintly from the other side of the door.

"Tairu? Sorry to wake you up, but-" She stopped, obviously interrupted. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep. The trial is tomorrow...I know that. I _know_ that!"

There was silence then. "No. I don't have enough money for a lawyer. Tairu! This isn't America anymore! They're not going to give me one."

Shuichi couldn't hear Tairu, but figured what he had asked when she spoke again.

"No. If she wins...I'll go bankrupt."

He tone changed ever so slightly as she said, "Anyway, I'm going to bed. See ya." He heard the phone being placed on the hook.

Shuichi turned to head to his room, feeling as though he had intruded, when Alira's door opened. She didn't look remotely surprised to see him.

"Alira, I-"

She raised her hand to signal him to be quiet. "I saw the shadow of your feet underneath the door." She looked tired, and much older than eighteen. Shuichi found it hard to believe that she was the same age as him. "So you heard what I said, huh?"

"I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," Shuichi replied shakily, his eyes filling with tears.

Alira sighed. "It's okay. I figured you'd find out anyway after I lost the trial that I'm broke, so it's not a big deal."

"You aren't gonna lose, so don't say that!" Shuichi replied sharply, his amethyst eyes on hers. "Yuki and I are gonna testify for you. He saw the bruise that day from your dad."

Alira turned away self-consciously, twirling a piece of hair around one finger. The last bits of the bruise would have been visible if she hadn't put makeup around her eye. Shuichi and Yuki didn't know about the other bruises on her body, and wouldn't ever if she had her way.

Of course, nothing ever worked out in her favor. She was wearing her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of baggy flannel pants and a tank top. The neckline of the top showed a bruise on her collarbone. She normally had makeup on that as well, but she had taken it off before going to bed. She remembered that fact at the exact moment that Shuichi noticed it.

"Oh my God!" he cried, his eyes growing wide. The bruise was purple and green, and was the shape of a man's fist. "Yuki! _YUKI_!"

His abrupt shouts caught Yuki's attention violently, causing him to jump and hit several random keys. He was up the stairs in a moment to ask what the matter was.

Alira had grabbed a sweatshirt from on top of her dresser and yanked it over her head before Yuki had come into her bedroom. He came towards her swiftly, and being unable to read his expression, she stepped backwards until she tripped over her backpack and fell onto the floor.

Yuki crouched beside her. "Take off the sweatshirt. Now."

Shakily, Alira obeyed. She wouldn't look at him as he stared at the bruise.

Yuki remembered wondering when she had first come into their house, if she didn't care about the black eye, what had her father done to make her run away from home?

Alira sniffled, suddenly looking helpless and small as she cowered on the floor beside the older man. She was so distraught that she didn't react when Yuki lifted up the back of her shirt. Similar bruises covered her back. He recognized the outline of a belt buckle on her shoulder, and several slightly rounded purple splotches caused by swift kicks.

"He beat you and you never said a word." It was not a question in the quiet way that Yuki said it.

Alira shut her eyes tightly and pulled her knees up to her chin, bowing her head forward. Part of her was terrified, and the other part was relieved that this information was out in the open.

Yuki released the back of her shirt, and it fell into place. "Where else did he hit you? And why didn't we see that bruise on your collarbone?"

"I used makeup to cover it," she murmured into her knees.

"And my other question?"

Alira was quiet, struggling with the different emotions she was feeling. "All over. I...Yuki, Shuichi, please, I can't-"

"You can't talk about it?" Shuichi asked softly.

Alira nodded, relieved that he knew exactly what the problem was. "I don't think I can testify against him," she said suddenly, her words spilling out before she could stop them. "I'm scared. I'm so scared that he'll hurt me again."

"That asshole is never going to come near you again," Shuichi assured her, but it was clear that she was not convinced.

Alira bowed her head again, messy auburn hair falling forwards to show yet another bruise around the back of her neck.

"Shut up about him. We're here. Nobody is going hurt you, okay?" Yuki placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm right here, and I won't let him touch you."

Alira's head lifted from her knees again.

"You're safe here. There's nothing to be scared of," Shuichi said gently. "You don't have to go through this alone."

"You...you mean it?" Alira stammered, her hazel eyes growing moist with tears. Only after they had both nodded did Alira feel safe enough to climb into bed and fall asleep.

She couldn't help feeling betrayed when Hiroshi hadn't come. Shuichi had said he was sick, and she accepted that. So why did her heart ache when it hadn't been his hand on her shoulder? Why did she feel like crying when Shuichi had promised to be there for her?

She knew she was in love with Hiroshi, so it hurt her when she found herself wishing that she could be the one that Shuichi or Yuki held against them.

She fell asleep crying her frustration.

END CHAPTER

My brother's friend wanted to read this. Naturally, I closed the document quickly.

I'm still sore from the mile and a half.

Authoress leaving.


	16. Hiroshi?

Authoress here.

How will I fit a lemon in here? Naturally, I'll have it on an email request only kind of thing so I don't get reported or anything.

START CHAPTER

Hiroshi Nakano felt terrible as he heard Shuichi's face over the telephone. Although he didn't want to believe what he was hearing, he knew it was true. Alira Montosuwa, who was currently sleeping, had been beaten by her father to the point where she had run away from home in fear that he would kill her.

"There's a bruise on her back that's the same shape as a belt buckle," Shuichi was saying quietly, obviously trying not to wake anyone else up. "And another on her chest."

Hiroshi was quiet a moment. "He must have hit her pretty hard to leave bruises that are still there," he finally said.

Shuichi sighed into the other line. "D'you think she'll be too scared to testify against him tomorrow?" Casting a glace at the luminous numerals on his beside clock, he corrected himself, "Er...today?"

"Nah," Hiroshi replied, a faint grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I've never seen her look scared before, so I don't think condemning a guy who deserves it will be much of a challenge." He sank down onto a bench, pushing a stack of newspapers aside.

"I've seen her looking scared," Shuichi answered softly. "When I saw the first bruise on her collarbone and shouted for Yuki, she looked terrified. She said she didn't think she could testify against him because she's afraid he'll hurt her again."

"Is the charge really child abuse since she's a legal adult?" Hiroshi asked, spinning a piece of hair around his fingers absentmindedly.

"When we met her, she said her eighteenth birthday was that Friday, and it was a Saturday that day. He gave her the black eye before then."

"True. So she has a case...but no lawyer..." Hiroshi mused. A passing subway train ruffled his already haphazard hair even more, and he winced away from the noise.

Too late to cover the mouthpiece, Shuichi had heard the train bowl past. "What was that? Are you in the subway?" he asked, startled.

Hiroshi frowned. "Yes," he replied grudgingly.

"You said you were sick. You lied to me!" Shuichi's voice was quavering, and Hiro instantly felt terrible all over again.

"I am, but...look, Ayaka asked me to meet her here tonight. She saw Alira and me together, and she's pissed off that I moved on so quickly. Don't tell Alira, okay?" he added, more gently then before. "It'll just make things worse."

Shuichi was clearly trying to suppress tears. "O-okay," he stammered, dragging the back of one hand across his eyes.

He was lying on his side in his bed when he felt a hand on his thigh. He jumped, and rolled over to be beside his lover, who looked somewhat ethereal in the pale moonlight.

Yuki said forcibly, "Hang up the phone."

Shuichi had time to say a quick farewell before Yuki seized the phone and put it firmly on the cradle. In no time, the pair were wearing substantially less clothing and had kicked the sheets to the floor in their passion.

In the room next door, Alira had woken up with a start. She sat bolt upright, and seized the clock. It was one thirty in the morning. She was supposed to get up at six thirty, but was currently looking upon that task as impossible. She sighed. As sleep was eluding her, she decided to head downstairs and see if she could sleep on the couch. She slid from her bed, still too groggy to remember that she had not yet put on a bra, and stretched her arms up in the air, yawning widely. She ran a hand through her ruffled hair before quietly opening her door.

It was at precisely the same moment that Yuki and Shuichi noticed the door was open that Alira walked past and peered in. Her face turned from pale gray to pink in an instant. She stumbled backwards into an open closet door, hitting her head on a shelf and knocking a pile of towels into her lap.

She rubbed her streaming eyes with one hand and the back of her head with the other. "Sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to walk in you!" she babbled, thoroughly mortified. "I didn't see anything, I swear! Well, I did see _something_, but I didn't try to!"

Yuki, who had pulled on a pair of bottle green flannel pants, not bothering with underwear, said softly, "Shut up."

Alira instantly fell silent, and started to stand up. She swayed, and clutched a shelf to support her. Most unfortunately, the shelf was not designed to support anything more than a wide array of towels, and slipped forwards, knocking Alira over again and spilling the contents onto her and the floor.

Alira squeezed her eyes shut, and put her head in her hands when she had the chance to look around her. "I'm sorry, Yuki," she murmured. "For everything."

Yuki, who had been picking up a stack of jumbled washcloths, froze. "What?"

"For being here, for wrecking your kitchen," Alira said, sitting up and ticking off each issue on her fingers as she named it. "For getting you in trouble with the law, for reading over your shoulder, for smashing the shelves, for walking in on you, for being such a hassle, for-"

"For not shutting up," Yuki interrupted.

Alira sighed and let her hands drop to the pile of towels on her lap.

Shuichi exited the bedroom, having hurriedly donned a pair of plaid boxers and a white undershirt. "You're not a hassle," he said firmly, his violet eyes trying unsuccessfully to lock onto hers.

Alira laughed hollowly. "I am, and you know it."

"If you want to leave so much, then go," Yuki replied icily.

"That's the thing," Alira replied, placing the pile of towels in Shuichi's outstretched arms instead of taking his hand to stand up. "And that's why I feel so horrible. I know I keep wrecking things, but I don't want to leave, because...when I'm here, I feel like I belong. Like I'm home. But I'm even ruining your relationship just by being here! I walked in on you while you were...were..."

"Fucking?" Yuki supplied.

Alira stood up shakily, Yuki's comment having caused her to shut up temporarily. "Go back to bed. I'll pick these up," she said quietly a moment later, gesturing to the piles of fluffy terrycloth towels and other assorted bath necessities.

"Like hell you will. I'll never be able to find any of it again if I let you put it away," Yuki replied matter-of-factly. "You," he shot over his shoulder at Shuichi, who dropped the towels he had been holding. "Get to bed."

Shuichi muttered a complaint, but walked back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him with a snap.

Alira frowned at his retreating back. "You should go to bed, too."

"You're one to talk," Yuki remarked, placing a stack on towels on the shelf and sliding it into the back left corner.

"I couldn't sleep," Alira replied loftily, slipping in beside him to put a pile of washcloths on the shelf. Yuki reached out and shifted them to the other side to the closet before putting his palm flat on her back.

Alira reacted much like he thought she would. She twisted away and ducked under his outstretched arm.

"You really hate me, don't you?" Yuki asked, a small smile on his face.

Alira bent to grab a bottle of cologne that she wasn't aware she had knocked off the shelf below. She turned and put it back on the shelf. Before she could let go, Yuki's hand was over hers. Her body went rigid.

Yuki placed the cologne in its proper place, and she attempted to wrench her hand away. When he did not lighten his grip, Alira turned her head to look at him.

"You're still weak. Don't you remember the conversation we had when you first got here?" Yuki prompted. "I told you to get stronger. Did you listen to me?"

"Let go of me," Alira said, not even trying to mask her annoyance.

"No."

Alira's surprised look was all she offered as a reply.

"Try to get free."

"I can't. You know that." Alira sighed, her eyes downcast. Yuki had a way of making her feel much younger than eighteen.

Yuki's eyes narrowed, and he tugged her away from his bedroom door and down the stairs so they wouldn't disturb Shuichi. "You almost got raped," he hissed once they were in the living room. "How did you get away from him?"

Alira shivered, recalling the terrifying moments that she thought would be her last. "I...I hit him." She looked up at Yuki, her eyes full of some unidentified emotion. "I'm not going to hit you, Yuki."

Wholly annoyed, Yuki shoved her onto the couch. She rubbed her wrists mournfully, even though Yuki hadn't really hurt her. "No wonder your dad was smacking you around. You're a pushover." He flopped beside her, and she scooted away.

"This isn't the...That's different," Alira faltered, eyes flashing dangerously.

Yuki laughed quietly. "No, it's not. People beat you up, and you don't do a damn thing to stop it." He sank onto the couch beside her, and reached out a hand to toy with her hair.

She brushed him off, irritated. He was trying to accomplish something. Perhaps he wanted to touch a nerve to get her to become less helpless. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

Yuki sighed and shifted his hand to his head. "You know, when you got here...I really did like you."

Alira's head snapped towards him, her eyes widened slightly. With one simple sentence, he had ruined her efforts to ignore him. "What?" she asked in a disbelieving whisper.

"You're exactly the type of girl I would've gone after if I didn't already have that damn brat upstairs," Yuki continued, his golden eyes watching hers to see her reaction to this news.

Alira stared for a moment before tearing her gaze away from him. She remembered her initial thoughts about him as well. They were fresh in her mind: her shock that she was in the home of the angelic novelist Eiri Yuki and the rock star Shuichi Shindou, the fluttering of her heart whenever he looked at her...and Hiroshi.

She froze. Hiroshi. Her _boyfriend_. Her throat felt like it had closed up. What she had felt for Yuki early on was lust; he was gorgeous. But what she loved about Hiroshi was, well, everything. Was an infatuation enough to make up for all the wonderful qualities that Hiroshi possessed?

"Do you...still like me?" she asked shakily, praying that he would say no.

Yuki shrugged. "I'd find a relationship awkward now that I know you."

Alira sighed her relief. "That's how I feel too. I'd rather forget I ever liked you and just be friends...or whatever we are now."

Yuki laughed softly. "You liked _me_?"

A flush crept on her cheeks. "At first, yes." _But I can't lie to myself. If I didn't have Hiroshi and he didn't have Shuichi, he's the type of guy I'd go after. _

She instantly felt a wave of guilt pass over her. To brush Hiroshi off like that after all he had done for her! She had told him that she loved him, and he had said the same. Why did she have to gall to define him as an obstacle between her and Yuki?

The very situation was proving to be uncomfortable. She had to leave before she did something that she would regret. Alira stood up. The squeaking of the springs alerted Yuki of her movement, and he glanced up.

"I'm...I'm going to bed," she stammered. "Goodnight." Yuki stood up as she was at the bottom of the stairs. She saw him and hesitated. "Did you...have something else you wanted to say?"

Yuki kept walking until he was beside her at the foot of the stairs. He opened his mouth to say something, reconsidered, and asked instead, "Do you have something to wear to the trial tomorrow?"

For a moment, Alira had forgotten that today, she would be testifying against her abusive father. She inhaled sharply. "Uh...I think so," she said slowly. _Why would he care? _

"What is it?"

Alira was confused. "A sweater and a skirt. Why?"

"My sister asked me to store some of her things here. I only said yes because Shuichi's boss is her husband. I think there are some suits in there that might fit you."

In no time, Alira was standing before a full-length mirror critiquing her reflection. The charcoal silk blazer over a red shirt (a bit lower cut than Alira would've liked, but still very good looking) and the straight leg skirt made her look very professional.

She turned around to face Yuki, still a bit embarrassed by the confessions made by the two of them earlier, and smiled nervously. "How do I look?"

Yuki's arms were crossed over his chest. He shrugged. "Better than before, I suppose."

Alira nodded, and turned back to the mirror. In the reflection, she saw Yuki frowning at her back. "You should get to bed, Yuki," she said quietly.

"You should talk," he countered, uncrossing his arms and striding towards her. She turned around and he stopped an arms length away.

"Fine. We'll compromise. I'll go to bed, and so will you." She realized only after the words had left her mouth that she mad just made a sexual innuendo. "That...came out weird," she said apologetically.

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Just go to bed."

Alira obeyed and headed for the door. With her hand on the frame, she paused and looked at Yuki over her shoulder. "Yuki?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Before he could reply, she had hurried from the room to get some more sleep.

Yuki shook his head. "No problem," he muttered.

In her room, as Alira slipped back into her pajamas, she glanced out the window in time to see a motorcycle go past. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the driver._ What the...Hiroshi? _

END CHAPTER

This chapter is for PenPusherM, who commented on my lack of updates. Sorry!

Authoress...well, still here, actually. Huh.


End file.
